U.S. patent application number 16/356429 was filed with the patent office on 2019-07-11 for systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin in optical networks.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ciena Corporation. Invention is credited to Michel Belanger, David W. Boertjes, Michael Y. Frankel, James Harley, Paul A. Littlewood, John P. Mateosky, Kevin S. Meagher, David Miedema, Gerard L. Swinkels.
Application Number | 20190215586 16/356429 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55303123 |
Filed Date | 2019-07-11 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190215586 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Swinkels; Gerard L. ; et
al. |
July 11, 2019 |
Systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin
in optical networks
Abstract
A method, a controller, and an optical network element are
configured to perform steps of monitoring one or more optical links
each formed by optical transceivers which are configured to provide
variable capacity via a plurality of modulation formats; based on
the monitoring, causing corresponding optical transceivers for the
one or more optical links to operate at a first modulation format
different from a second modulation format providing excess
capacity; and mapping the excess capacity to bandwidth useable by
one or more services managed by the one or more of the management
system, the management plane, and the control plane.
Inventors: |
Swinkels; Gerard L.;
(Ottawa, CA) ; Harley; James; (Nepean, CA)
; Boertjes; David W.; (Nepean, CA) ; Miedema;
David; (Ottawa, CA) ; Belanger; Michel;
(Montreal, CA) ; Littlewood; Paul A.; (Johns
Creek, GA) ; Mateosky; John P.; (West River, MD)
; Frankel; Michael Y.; (Baltimore, MD) ; Meagher;
Kevin S.; (Bowie, MD) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ciena Corporation |
Hanover |
MD |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55303123 |
Appl. No.: |
16/356429 |
Filed: |
March 18, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14886584 |
Oct 19, 2015 |
10257596 |
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16356429 |
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14534657 |
Nov 6, 2014 |
9455788 |
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14886584 |
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14176908 |
Feb 10, 2014 |
9258190 |
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14534657 |
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13372013 |
Feb 13, 2012 |
9374166 |
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14176908 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 41/0893 20130101;
H04Q 2011/0064 20130101; H04Q 11/0003 20130101; H04L 41/0663
20130101; H04B 10/516 20130101; H04Q 2011/0083 20130101; H04Q
2011/0086 20130101; H04L 41/5096 20130101; H04L 41/04 20130101;
H04L 41/0896 20130101; H04Q 11/0062 20130101; H04Q 2011/0088
20130101; H04Q 2011/0084 20130101; H04Q 2011/0081 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04Q 11/00 20060101
H04Q011/00; H04L 12/24 20060101 H04L012/24; H04B 10/516 20060101
H04B010/516 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: in one or more of a management system, a
management plane, and a control plane associated with an optical
network, monitoring one or more optical links each formed by
optical transceivers which are configured to provide variable
capacity via a plurality of modulation formats; based on the
monitoring, causing corresponding optical transceivers for the one
or more optical links to operate at a first modulation format
different from a second modulation format providing excess
capacity; and mapping the excess capacity to bandwidth useable by
one or more services managed by the one or more of the management
system, the management plane, and the control plane.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second modulation format
supports a nominally guaranteed rate over a corresponding optical
link based on optical margin, and the first modulation format
includes consumption of all or part of the optical margin.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising advertising the
bandwidth useable by the one or more services via the control
plane.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the bandwidth useable by the one
or more services is allocated to one or more of one restoration
bandwidth and short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting margin
erosion of one of the corresponding optical transceivers; and
adjusting the corresponding optical transceivers to operate at the
second modulation format and removing the excess capacity.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing includes coordinating
the change from the second modulation format to the first
modulation format with one or more network elements in a path over
corresponding optical links.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of modulation
formats are discrete modulation levels which are adjusted to
accommodate Signal-to-Noise (SNR) ratios on the corresponding
optical links.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring and
determining an average Signal-to-Noise (SNR) on the corresponding
optical links and utilizing the average SNR to determine the first
modulation format.
9. A controller comprising: a network interface communicatively
coupled to an optical network; a processor communicatively coupled
to the network interface; and memory storing instructions that,
when executed, cause the processor to monitor one or more optical
links in the optical network each formed by optical transceivers
which are configured to provide variable capacity via a plurality
of modulation formats, based on the monitor, cause corresponding
optical transceivers for the one or more optical links to operate
at a first modulation format different from a second modulation
format providing excess capacity, and map the excess capacity to
bandwidth useable by one or more services managed by the
controller.
10. The controller of claim 9, wherein the second modulation format
supports a nominally guaranteed rate over a corresponding optical
link based on optical margin, and the first modulation format
includes consumption of all or part of the optical margin.
11. The controller of claim 9, wherein the memory storing
instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to
advertise the bandwidth useable by the one or more services via the
control plane.
12. The controller of claim 9, wherein the bandwidth useable by the
one or more services is allocated to one or more of one restoration
bandwidth and short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections.
13. The controller of claim 9, wherein the memory storing
instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to
detect margin erosion of one of the corresponding optical
transceivers; and adjust the corresponding optical transceivers to
operate at the second modulation format and removing the excess
capacity.
14. The controller of claim 9, wherein the memory storing
instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to
coordinate the change from the second modulation format to the
first modulation format with one or more network elements in a path
over corresponding optical links.
15. The controller of claim 9, wherein the plurality of modulation
formats are discrete modulation levels which are adjusted to
accommodate Signal-to-Noise (SNR) ratios on the corresponding
optical links.
16. The controller of claim 9, wherein the memory storing
instructions that, when executed, further cause the processor to
measure and determine an average Signal-to-Noise (SNR) on the
corresponding optical links and utilize the average SNR to
determine the first modulation format.
17. An optical network element comprising: one or more transceivers
each configured to provide a variable capacity via a plurality of
modulation formats, and each connected to adjacent optical
transceivers thereby forming corresponding optical links in an
optical network; one or more switch modules configured to switch
bandwidth; and a controller configured to monitor the corresponding
optical links, based on the monitor, cause corresponding optical
transceivers for the corresponding optical links to operate at a
first modulation format different from a second modulation format
providing excess capacity, and map the excess capacity to bandwidth
useable by one or more services managed by the controller and
switched through the one or more switch modules.
18. The optical network element of claim 17, wherein the second
modulation format supports a nominally guaranteed rate over a
corresponding optical link based on optical margin, and the first
modulation format includes consumption of all or part of the
optical margin.
19. The optical network element of claim 17, wherein the controller
is further configured to detect margin erosion of one of the
corresponding optical transceivers; and adjust the corresponding
optical transceivers to operate at the second modulation format and
removing the excess capacity.
20. The optical network element of claim 17, wherein the controller
is further configured to coordinate the change from the second
modulation format to the first modulation format with one or more
network elements in a path over corresponding optical links.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] The present non-provisional patent application/patent is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/886,584, filed
on Oct. 19, 2015, and entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING
EXCESS OPTICAL CAPACITY AND MARGIN IN OPTICAL NETWORKS," which is a
continuation-in-part of:
[0002] (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/534,657, filed on
Nov. 6, 2014, and entitled "HITLESS MODULATION SCHEME CHANGE
SYSTEMS AND METHODS IN OPTICAL NETWORKS,"
[0003] (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/176,908, filed on
Feb. 10, 2014, and entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING
EXCESS OPTICAL CAPACITY AND MARGIN IN OPTICAL NETWORKS," and
[0004] (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/372,013, filed on
Feb. 13, 2012, and entitled "HIGH SPEED OPTICAL COMMUNICATION
SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH FLEXIBLE BANDWIDTH ADAPTATION," the
contents of each of the foregoing is incorporated in full by
reference herein.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] The present disclosure generally relates to optical
networking. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to
systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin
in optical networks.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0006] Fiber optic communication networks are experiencing rapidly
increasing growth in capacity. This capacity growth is reflected by
individual channel data rates, scaling from 10 Gbps (gigabits per
second), to 40 Gbps, to developing 100 Gbps, and to future
projections of 1000 Gbps channels and beyond. The capacity growth
is also reflected by increasing total channel count and/or optical
spectrum carried within an optical fiber. In the past, optical
channels were deployed with a fixed capacity in terms of bandwidth
as well as a fixed amount of overhead for forward error correction
(FEC). For example, in a conventional system deployment, channels
are deployed at 10 Gbps or 40 Gbps (plus associated overhead for
FEC). These channels are designed to provide fixed data throughput
capacity of 10 Gbps or 40 Gbps. Moreover, the performance limits of
these channels are established assuming that the system is
operating at full capacity, with all the optical channels present.
The first in channels will operate in much more benign condition
and have significant extra margin available. This margin is not
utilized until much later in the lifecycle of the system. For
example, a single wavelength deployed on a new optical line system
could have more than 10 dB of excess margin that is not currently
utilized (without adding new hardware). This unused margin can be
considered wasted and forcing the system to operate in a non-cost
effective way. If this extra margin could be utilized, even in a
temporary way, to enhance data throughput of the modem, for
example, the economics of the system would be significantly
improved.
[0007] Of note, next generation optical modems are equipped with
the capability to support variable data throughput applications.
Moreover, this capability will be provisionable. Therefore,
depending on the opportunity, it would be advantageous to provision
a modem at a higher data throughput when extra margin is available
on new and low channel count deployments, usage of these next
generation modem will allow to mine and use this excess margin and
wasted capacity without requiring additional hardware. However,
this excess margin will disappear as the channel counts approach
full fill. It would be advantageous to have systems and methods for
managing excess optical capacity and margin in optical networks in
view of the above.
[0008] Fiber optic communication networks today are pushing up
against the Shannon Limit within the non-linear tolerance of the
transponder technology currently in use. There is great interest in
providing the best spectral efficiency possible, which is leading
to the development of adaptive modulation techniques applied to
fiber optic transmission. In wireless and Digital Subscriber Loop
(DSL) technology, it is quite common to use adaptive modulation
schemes which adapt to link conditions, e.g. High-Speed Downlink
Packet Access (HSDPA) and Asymmetric digital subscriber line
(ADSL2+). In optical, some latest generation transponders on the
market are capable of changing the modulation scheme, e.g. Ciena's
WaveLogic3 family. Transponders in the future will be able to
change modulation scheme more quickly, and may be optimized to do
so. However, today's systems cannot take advantage of these in a
hitless manner.
[0009] Although wireless and DSL technologies can react to channel
conditions using adaptive modulation, the system constraints in
fiber optic communication networks would not allow similar system
techniques to work. In particular, there are two assumptions built
into the algorithms used in these systems for wireless and DSL
technologies. First, the data which is transported in both cases
(wireless and DSL technologies) is bursty in nature, and the actual
user data throughput vs. actual bit rate can be controlled. In
wireless communication, the application layer is visible to the
controller. In other words, the systems are designed to allow for
periodic optimization where the resulting changes can be in
modulation scheme. Optical transport networks are the core of the
data network and as such see a rather continuous flow of traffic
due to multiple levels of multiplexing and grooming. There are many
sources of this data, and the volume is also very high, so
hold-offs on data transmission become too complex and/or expensive
to implement.
[0010] Second, another simplifying condition is that the
transmission time (distance) from the modulator to the demodulator
is small compared to the baud rate of the transmission. In
practical terms, for example, for HSDPA networks in a 5 km cell and
the baud rate of 5 Mbps, there are 8.3 baud in flight at any time.
In an optical network using 100 Gbps over 2000 km, there is 440
million baud in flight. This nearly 8 orders of magnitude
difference represent a key difference in how to perform such
changes. Although there are some transponder on the market today
which can change the operational state to accommodate a different
spectral efficiency which may be allowed by the link conditions,
these cause some length of outage which can only be managed out of
service or as a failure in the system, both of which have negative
effects on the system, and drive operational complexity for the end
user. Treating it as an outage may cause higher level protocols to
attempt to recover from the failure, leaving the system vulnerable
to further failures. The treatment of a failure may also cause
re-transmission of data, etc. With the vast amount of data
involved, this is simply unacceptable.
[0011] For example, using conventional optical modems, such as the
WaveLogic3, testing was performed to switch in-service between
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and 16-Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation (16-QAM). The switch requires several seconds because
operating conditions on the line including non-linear impairments
have to be calculated. Again, it is expected that the switch can be
optimized, but likely not on the order of several milliseconds.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, a method includes, in one or
more of a management system, a management plane, and a control
plane associated with an optical network, monitoring one or more
optical links each formed by optical transceivers which are
configured to provide variable capacity via a plurality of
modulation formats; based on the monitoring, causing corresponding
optical transceivers for the one or more optical links to operate
at a first modulation format different from a second modulation
format providing excess capacity; and mapping the excess capacity
to bandwidth useable by one or more services managed by the one or
more of the management system, the management plane, and the
control plane. The second modulation format can support a nominally
guaranteed rate over a corresponding optical link based on optical
margin, and the first modulation format can include consumption of
all or part of the optical margin. The method can further include
advertising the bandwidth useable by the one or more services via
the control plane. The useable by the one or more services can be
allocated to one or more of one restoration bandwidth and
short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections. The method can further
include detecting margin erosion of one of the corresponding
optical transceivers; adjusting the corresponding optical
transceivers to operate at the second modulation format and
removing the excess capacity. The causing can include coordinating
the change from the second modulation format to the first
modulation format with one or more network elements in a path over
corresponding optical links. The plurality of modulation formats
can be discrete modulation levels which are adjusted to accommodate
Signal-to-Noise (SNR) ratios on the corresponding optical links.
The method can further include measuring and determining an average
Signal-to-Noise (SNR) on the corresponding optical links and
utilizing the average SNR to determine the first modulation
format.
[0013] In another exemplary embodiment, a controller includes a
network interface communicatively coupled to an optical network; a
processor communicatively coupled to the network interface; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the
processor to monitor one or more optical links in the optical
network each formed by optical transceivers which are configured to
provide variable capacity via a plurality of modulation formats,
based on the monitor, cause corresponding optical transceivers for
the one or more optical links to operate at a first modulation
format different from a second modulation format providing excess
capacity, and map the excess capacity to bandwidth useable by one
or more services managed by the controller.
[0014] In a further exemplary embodiment, an optical network
element includes one or more transceivers each configured to
provide a variable capacity via a plurality of modulation formats,
and each connected to adjacent optical transceivers thereby forming
corresponding optical links in an optical network; one or more
switch modules configured to switch bandwidth; and a controller
configured to monitor the corresponding optical links, based on the
monitor, cause corresponding optical transceivers for the
corresponding optical links to operate at a first modulation format
different from a second modulation format providing excess
capacity, and map the excess capacity to bandwidth useable by one
or more services managed by the controller and switched through the
one or more switch modules.
[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, a hitless modulation change
method at a node in an optical network includes determining that a
modulation change is warranted for an optical modem in the node,
the optical modem configured to communicate over an optical link;
determining an impact of the modulation change on the optical link
and associated underlying connections thereon; causing changes in a
data plane for the associated underlying connections, prior to
performing the modulation change; and causing the modulation change
subsequent to accommodating the associated underlying connections
in the data plane, thereby minimizing interruptions of the
associated underlying connections due to the modulation change. The
hitless modulation change method can further include causing
reversion of the associated underlying connections to the optical
link subsequent to completion and verification of the modulation
change. The causing changes in the data plane can utilize a control
plane and restoration of the associated underlying connections per
normal control plane behavior. The normal control plane behavior
can include any of mesh restoration via the control plane, 1+1/1:1
Automatic Protection Switching (APS), Subnetwork Connection
Protection (SNCP), ring restoration, G.8032 Ethernet Ring
Protection Switching (ERPS), and Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)
protection. The determining the impact can include determining a
length of time the modulation change will take. The length of time
the modulation change will take can be based on a type of the
modulation change from first modulation scheme to a second
modulation scheme, link conditions, and line measurements. The
length of time can be communicated with the changes in the data
plane for the associated underlying connections. The determining
steps and the causing steps can be performed by a control agent
communicatively coupled to the node. The control agent can operate
in an autonomous manner and communicates with existing control
plane functionality associated with the node to cause the changes
in the data plane.
[0016] In another exemplary embodiment, a hitless modulation change
system communicatively coupled to a node in an optical network
includes a processor; and memory storing instructions that, when
executed, cause the processor to determine that a modulation change
is warranted for an optical modem in the node, the optical modem is
configured to communicate over an optical link, determine an impact
of the modulation change on the optical link and associated
underlying connections thereon, cause changes in a data plane for
the associated underlying connections, prior to performing the
modulation change, and cause the modulation change subsequent to
accommodating the associated underlying connections in the data
plane, thereby minimizing interruptions of the associated
underlying connections due to the modulation change. The memory
storing instructions that, when executed, can further cause the
processor to cause reversion of the associated underlying
connections to the optical link subsequent to completion and
verification of the modulation change. The changes in the data
plane can be caused utilizing a control plane and restoration of
the associated underlying connections per normal control plane
behavior. The normal control plane behavior can include any of mesh
restoration via the control plane, 1+1/1:1 Automatic Protection
Switching (APS), Subnetwork Connection Protection (SNCP), ring
restoration, G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS), and
Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) protection. The impact can
include determining a length of time the modulation change will
take. The length of time the modulation change will take can be
based on a type of the modulation change from first modulation
scheme to a second modulation scheme, link conditions, and line
measurements. The length of time can be communicated with the
changes in the data plane for the associated underlying
connections. The hitless modulation change system can be
implemented through or communicatively coupled to a Software
Defined Networking (SDN) controller. The control agent can operate
in an autonomous manner and communicates with existing control
plane functionality associated with the node to cause the changes
in the data plane.
[0017] In a further exemplary embodiment, an optical node
implementing hitless modulation changes in an optical network
includes one or more optical modems coupled to the optical network;
a fabric coupled to the one or more optical modems for switching of
connections; and a processing device implementing a control agent,
wherein the control agent is configured to determine that a
modulation change is warranted for an optical modem in the node,
the optical modem is configured to communicate over an optical
link, determine an impact of the modulation change on the optical
link and associated underlying connections thereon, cause changes
in a data plane for the associated underlying connections through
the fabric, prior to performing the modulation change, and cause
the modulation change subsequent to accommodating the associated
underlying connections in the data plane, thereby minimizing
interruptions of the associated underlying connections due to the
modulation change. The changes can be caused in the data plane
utilizing a control plane and restoration of the associated
underlying connections per normal control plane behavior with the
fabric.
[0018] In an exemplary embodiment, a fiber optic system includes a
transmitter configured to utilize a plurality of modulation
formats, and a receiver communicatively coupled to the transmitter
and configured to utilize a plurality of modulation formats,
wherein the transmitter and the receiver are cooperatively
configured to set a modulation format of the plurality of
modulation formats based upon signal-to-noise ratio associated
therewith. The receiver can be configured to sense the
signal-to-noise ratio through any of a bit error rate, a corrected
forward error correction count, a symbol error rate, a
constellation estimate, etc., and the receiver can be configured to
communicate with the transmitter. The fiber optic system can
further include transmitter data circuitry coupled to the
transmitter, and receiver data circuitry coupled to the receiver,
wherein each of the transmitter data circuitry and the receiver
data circuitry is configured to adapt data between the transmitter
and the receiver such that any changes between the plurality of
modulation formats are performed in a hitless manner. The fiber
optic system can further include a plurality of timeslots formed
between the transmitter data circuitry and the receiver data
circuitry, wherein a number of the plurality of timeslots are based
at least on client data demands. Each of the transmitter and the
receiver can be configured to cycle through a predetermined
sequence of the plurality of modulation formats.
[0019] The plurality of modulation formats can include Binary Phase
Shift Keying, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, 8-Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation, and 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation. Each of the
transmitter and the receiver can be configured with a plurality of
sub-channels. The transmitter and the receiver can be cooperatively
configured to reduce bandwidth by excluding failed subsystems
associated with any of the plurality of sub-channels. The fiber
optic system can further include at least one intermediate optical
transceiver between the transmitter and the receiver, and a
mechanism for signaling adaptive modulation format changes between
the transmitter, the at least one intermediate optical transceiver,
and the receiver. The mechanism for signaling can be configured for
any of the transmitter, the at least one intermediate optical
transceiver, and the receiver to request a decrease in bandwidth
due to degradation of the optical signal-to-noise ratio, and for
the transmitter to request an increase in bandwidth. The fiber
optic system can further include an in-band communication channel
for signaling adaptive modulation format changes between the
transmitter and the receiver, and a blind system recovery mechanism
to establish the in-band communication channel between the
transmitter and the receiver.
[0020] In another exemplary embodiment, an optical transceiver
includes a transmitter configured to utilize a plurality of
modulation formats, wherein the transmitter is communicatively
coupled to a far end receiver, and a receiver communicatively
configured to utilize a plurality of modulation formats, wherein
the receiver is communicatively coupled to a far end transmitter,
wherein the transmitter and the far end receiver are cooperatively
configured to set a modulation format of the plurality of
modulation formats based upon signal-to-noise ratio associated
therewith, and wherein the receiver and the far end transmitter are
cooperatively configured to set a modulation format of the
plurality of modulation formats based upon signal-to-noise ratio
associated therewith. The optical transceiver can further include a
first plurality of sub-channels transmitted by the transmitter, and
a second plurality of sub-channels received by the receiver,
wherein each of the first plurality of sub-channels and the second
plurality of sub-channels includes one of the plurality of
modulation formats. The receiver can be configured to sense the
optical signal-to-noise ratio through any of a bit error rate, a
corrected forward error correction count, a symbol error rate, a
constellation estimate, etc., and wherein the receiver is
configured to communicate to the far end transmitter. The
transmitter can include configurable modulators configured to
provide any of Binary Phase Shift Keying, Quadrature Phase Shift
Keying, 8-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, and 16-Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation.
[0021] In yet another exemplary embodiment, a flexible bandwidth
adaptation method includes monitoring at least one aspect of an
optical link at a network element; responsive to the at least one
aspect, computing an improved modulation scheme of a plurality of
modulation schemes for the optical link; and if the improved
modulation scheme is computed, changing to the improved modulation
scheme. The monitoring can include, at an originating network
element of the optical link, monitoring for transceiver health and
client bandwidth demand, and, at a terminating network element of
the optical link, monitoring for signal-to-noise ratio. The
flexible bandwidth adaptation method can further include the
originating network element communicating with the terminating
network element a degradation in the signal-to-noise and a request
to adapt to a different modulation scheme based thereon. The
flexible bandwidth adaptation method can further include, at an
intermediate network element of the optical link, monitoring for
signal-to-noise ratio, and communicating a degradation in the
optical signal-to-noise and a request to adapt to a different
modulation scheme based thereon. The flexible bandwidth adaptation
method can further include, prior to changing to the improved
modulation scheme, buffering data such that the change to the new
modulation scheme is hitless.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The present disclosure is illustrated and described herein
with reference to the various drawings, in which like reference
numbers are used to denote like system components/method steps, as
appropriate, and in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a network diagram of an exemplary network for the
systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin
in optical networks;
[0024] FIG. 2 are graphs of an example of spectral shaping fitting
a 100 G signal into 50 GHz of bandwidth and into 25 GHz of
bandwidth or less;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for managing excess
optical capacity and margin in optical networks;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of another method for managing excess
optical capacity and margin in optical networks;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a coexistence method for managing
excess optical capacity and margin in optical networks with both
variable capacity channels and fixed capacity channels
intermixed;
[0028] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary network element
for use with the methods and systems described herein;
[0029] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a controller to provide control
plane processing and/or operations, administration, maintenance,
and provisioning (OAM&P) for the network element of FIG. 6;
[0030] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a hitless modulation change
system at a node connected to an optical network; and
[0031] FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a hitless modulation change method
which can be implemented through the control agent in coordination
with the modem, the control plane, etc. from the hitless modulation
change system of FIG. 8;
[0032] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a processing device that can
operate the control agent from the hitless modulation change system
of FIG. 8;
[0033] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a high-speed optical system in
accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods;
[0034] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a transceiver operation method in
accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods;
[0035] FIG. 13 is a diagram of the optical system of FIG. 11
illustrating communication aspects associated therewith in
accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods;
[0036] FIG. 14 is a diagram of the optical system of FIG. 11
illustrating an exemplary operation in accordance with the flexible
bandwidth adaptation systems and methods;
[0037] FIG. 15 is a state diagram of a receive-side method for the
transceivers of the optical system in accordance with the flexible
bandwidth adaptation systems and methods;
[0038] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of
a transceiver for use in the optical system and/or with the
transceiver operation method;
[0039] FIG. 17 is a set of graphs of symbol error rate versus
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a bit error rate (BER) of 10.sup.-12
for the transceiver of FIG. 16;
[0040] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the transceiver of FIG. 16
focusing on the data section and time slots associated
therewith;
[0041] FIGS. 19-23 are diagrams of end-to-end bandwidth operations
between originating, intermediate, and terminating network elements
in accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods;
[0042] FIGS. 24A-24C are graphs of maximizing data throughput and
reducing costs in the presence of power ripple; and
[0043] FIG. 25 is a graph of variance in SNR over time for a
channel in accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation
systems and methods.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0044] In various exemplary embodiments, hitless modulation scheme
change systems and methods in optical networks are described. The
hitless modulation scheme change systems and methods allow
modulation scheme changes of a transponder in a hitless manner so
as to reap the benefit of changing the spectral efficiency to match
link and system level requirements. The hitless modulation scheme
change systems and methods provide a bottom-up approach and
autonomous approach that negotiates a modulation change when one is
warranted and ensures that existing traffic is not impacted during
the modulation change. Due to the complex nature of high-speed
optical transmission (e.g., coherent modulation, adaptive
electrical signal processing, Forward Error Correction (FEC),
etc.), it is extremely complex to switch a transponder or modem's
modulation without impacting traffic. In this manner, the hitless
modulation scheme change systems and methods propose an approach
using a mechanism which coordinates between a data plane and
control plane, i.e. using a fabric and a modem, to ensure current
traffic is minimally impacted by a modulation scheme change. Note,
as described herein, a hitless change means one in which traffic is
impacted by 50 ms or less or by an amount based on service
restoration (e.g., a mesh restoration event may be more than 50
ms). On the contrary, a modulation scheme change can take on the
order of seconds to implement, given current implementations. It is
expected that this amount of time will decrease, such as to is or
less, but still higher than 50 ms.
[0045] Additionally, in various exemplary embodiments, systems and
methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin in optical
networks are described. Fundamentally, the systems and methods
exploit the fact that next-gen flexible optical modems can support
various bit-rates well beyond a guaranteed bit-rate in most
operating situations (i.e., the guaranteed bit-rate is engineered
for full-fill or worst-case, and in all other situations, higher
bit-rates typically can be achieved). In the systems and methods
described herein, techniques are described to actively mine this
excess capacity to provide additional bandwidth without additional
hardware that can be used for various purposes such as restoration
traffic, short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections, or the like.
In an exemplary aspect, the systems and methods described herein
are advantageous in first-in builds in that this excess capacity
can be used for restoration traffic without requiring additional
hardware in low-fill deployments. This can significantly lower the
costs of first-in builds. Further, the systems and methods
described herein contemplate integration between the flexible
optical modems; a management system, management plane, and/or
control plane; a switching plane to enable use and management of
this excess capacity as one or more logical interfaces.
[0046] In various exemplary embodiments, flexible bandwidth
adaptation systems and methods are described for terabit optical
communication systems. The flexible bandwidth adaptation systems
and methods include an optical transceiver, an optical network, and
methods associated therewith. The flexible bandwidth adaptation
systems and methods provide scalable and fault tolerant
communication over fiber, redundant transmission of data to
mitigate system anomalies and hardware failures, improve on the
`all or nothing` network operational scenario during times of
degraded SNR (i.e., protection switch or not), adapt to underlying
bandwidth demands, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, high
speed optical transceivers (e.g., 100 Gbps+) include support for a
plurality of modulation formats in the same device, with the
selection of modulation format based on the flexible bandwidth
adaptation systems and methods.
Exemplary Network
[0047] Referring to FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, a network
diagram illustrates an exemplary network 10 implementing the
systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin
in optical networks. The network 10 includes two interconnected
network elements 12a, 12b via an optical link 14. Additionally, the
optical link 14 can include additional components 16 which are
omitted for illustration purposes. For example, the additional
components 16 can include, without limitation, optical amplifiers,
optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs), reconfigurable OADMs
(ROADMs), etc. In the context of the systems and methods, the
network elements 12a, 12b are connected via the optical link 14
which is all-optical between the network elements 12a, 12b, i.e. no
optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversions between the network
elements 12a, 12b. The optical link 14 can be a single span or
multiple spans with intermediate amplifiers. Those of ordinary
skill in the art will recognize that the network 10 can include
other network elements 12a, 12b forming various architectures, i.e.
mesh, rings, linear, etc. The network 10 is presented as a single
optical link (optionally with the components 16) for an
illustration of the systems and methods.
[0048] The optical link 14 can include N channels (or wavelengths),
denoted as .lamda..sub.1-.lamda..sub.n. For example, the number N
can be the maximum supported channels on the optical link 14.
Additionally, the number N can be variable with respect to flexible
grid channels (e.g., channels taking an arbitrary and variable
amount of spectrum). For example, N can be 44 for 100 GHz channel
spacing, 88 for 50 GHz channel spacing, or any combination in
between to deliver between 36 and 88 wavelengths with flexible grid
channels. Other embodiments are also contemplated. From a link
engineering perspective, the optical link 14 is designed and
implemented day one to support the N channels. However, greenfield
installation or first-in builds (i.e., new) typically only include
one or a couple of channels. Also, it can often take time to move
from a couple of channels to a full complement of the N channels on
the optical link 14. This can be referred to as a forecast tolerant
modeling scheme where the optical link 14 is designed to support a
full-fill that will eventually be realized but is likely, not
present in first-in builds. Thus, from a system capacity
perspective, the optical link 14 has unutilized margin and capacity
in the first-in builds and where the optical link 14 has less than
N channels deployed thereon.
[0049] In the context of the N channels, the N channels are either
fixed capacity channels or variable capacity channels depending on
associated hardware at the network elements 12a, 12b forming each
of the N channels. In an exemplary embodiment, the optical line 14
can include one or more fixed capacity channels, one or more
variable capacity channels, and/or a combination thereof. Fixed
capacity channels are implemented through optical transceivers,
transponders, muxponders (i.e., M:N combiners), etc. Here, the
fixed capacity channels do not have an ability to vary the
bandwidth, i.e. a 10 Gbps transponder with fixed capacity can only
support 10 Gbps worth of traffic, etc. Fixed capacity channels may
also include fixed channel spacing (e.g., 50/100 GHz) (i.e., fixed
grid channels) and fixed FEC overhead. For a fixed capacity
channel, if a channel has X dB excess margin, there is no way the
fixed capacity channel can make use of this excess margin, i.e. the
fixed capacity channel hardware is not configured to vary the
bandwidth.
[0050] Variable capacity channels are implemented through flexible
optical modems. In contrast to the fixed capacity channels,
variable capacity channels typically include adaptable coherent
modulation or non-coherent modulation, adaptive FEC schemes, and
spectral shaping. A flexible optical modem can support a variable
amount of bandwidth, e.g. from x Gbps to y Gbps, where x<y. For
example, a flexible optical modem can support a guaranteed rate,
e.g. 40 G, 100 G, 400 G, 1 T, etc. along with a higher supported
rate, e.g. 40 G->100 G, 100 G->200 G, 400 G->1 T, etc. The
flexible optical modem utilizes the adaptable coherent modulation,
adaptive FEC schemes, and spectral shaping to support the variable
amount of bandwidth. The limitations on the upper bound of the
variable amount of bandwidth are based on i) what the optical link
14 can support, ii) backplane interfaces in the network element
12a, 12b with the flexible optical modem, and iii) adaptive
modulation formats supported. An example of a flexible optical
modem is the WaveLogic 3 from Ciena Corporation, the assignee of
the present application/patent. Also, note the flexible optical
modem may also be referred to as a transceiver, transponder,
muxponder, etc.
[0051] With respect to adaptive coherent modulation, the flexible
optical modem can support various different baud rates through
software-programmable modulation formats. The flexible optical
modem can support programmable modulation or constellations with
both varying phase and/or amplitude. In an exemplary embodiment,
the flexible optical modem can support multiple coherent modulation
formats such as, for example, i) dual-channel, dual-polarization
(DP) binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) for 100 G at submarine
distances, ii) DP quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) for 100 G at
ultra long haul distances, iii) 16-quadrature amplitude modulation
(QAM) for 200 G at metro to regional (600 km) distances), or iv)
dual-channel 16 QAM for 400 G at metro to regional distances. Thus,
in this exemplary embodiment, the same flexible optical modem
hardware can support 100 G to 400 G. With associated digital signal
processing (DSP) in the flexible optical modem hardware, moving
from one modulation format to another is completely
software-programmable. In another exemplary embodiment, the
flexible optical modem can support N-QAM modulation formats with
and without dual-channel and dual-polarization where N can even be
a real number and not necessarily an integer. Here, the flexible
optical modem can support non-standard speeds since N can be a real
number as opposed to an integer, i.e. not just 100 G, 200 G, or 400
G, but variable speeds, such as 130 G, 270 G, 560 G, etc.
Furthermore, with the DSP and software programming, the capacity of
the flexible optical modem can be adjusted upwards or downwards in
a hitless manner so as not to affect the guaranteed rate.
[0052] With respect to the adaptive FEC schemes, the flexible
optical modem can support a new soft-decision forward error
correction (soft FEC) algorithm. The soft FEC can be
software-programmable to adjust for low latency demands versus
capacity/performance demands. The soft FEC uses variable-rate FEC
codes which can take up variable amounts of an overall signal, e.g.
20%, 16%, 10%, 7%, etc. As is known in the art, the stronger the
FEC, the more margin in dB is provided. In this manner, the soft
FEC provides another opportunity to mine the excess capacity on a
variable capacity channel. For example, assume a variable capacity
channel is deployed with 20% FEC overhead with a margin of 10 dB.
The FEC can be reduced, e.g., to 10% to reduce the margin and
provide excess capacity for use. The strong FEC may not be needed
until more channels are added to the optical link 14. An example of
a soft-decision forward error correction algorithm is described in
Gho et al., "Rate-Adaptive Coding for Optical Fiber Transmission
Systems," IEEE JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 29, NO. 2,
Jan. 15, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated by reference
herein. Note, the fixed capacity channel hardware may also
implement FEC as well as a soft FEC. However, as described herein,
the fixed capacity channel hardware is distinguishable from the
variable capacity channel hardware in that it does not support an
ability to mine the excess capacity. Rather, the fixed capacity
channel hardware only supports a single guaranteed rate.
[0053] With respect to spectral shaping, the flexible optical
modems can operate in both fixed- and flexible-grid environments.
Referring to FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment, a spectral diagram
illustrates an example of fitting a 100 G signal into 50 GHz of
bandwidth (graph 20 representing a QPSK 100 G signal), into 25 GHz
of bandwidth (graph 22 representing a 16 QAM 100 G signal), and
into less than 25 GHz of bandwidth (graph 22a representing a
spectrally shaped 16 QAM 100 G signal). Note, the 16 QAM 100 G
which uses half the baud rate of the QPSK 100 G. If one is on a
fixed grid, there is no gain in spectral efficiency, e.g. both
signals fit into a 50 GHz channel. If one is allowed to change the
channel spacing flexibly, then the spectral efficiency can be
doubled, e.g. two 16 QAM 100 G signals in 50 GHz spacing. For
example, in a first-in build solely with flexible optical modems,
it may be advantageous to use a flexible-grid and space each 100 G
signal in the minimal amount of bandwidth. However, in an existing
fixed-grid, it may be required to fit the 100 G into 50 GHz of
bandwidth. Here, in an exemplary embodiment, the systems and
methods propose to harm intentionally fixed capacity channels with
excess, but unusable margin to allow the flexible optical modem to
use the excess margin.
[0054] Variously, it is an exemplary objective of the systems and
methods to mine this unutilized margin and capacity to lower
first-in network cost by allowing network operators to defer
deploying excess capacity. Specifically, through the flexible
optical modems, the systems and methods leverage the ability of the
lines to provide the restoration bandwidth thereby deferring the
deployment of additional optical interfaces as well as provide
excess capacity that can be utilized for lower priority services,
bandwidth-on-demand, etc. Specifically, first-in builds have
significant excess margin, and with the emergence of flexible
optical modems, it is an objective to provide and manage the excess
margin to provide excess capacity without additional hardware or
management constraints. That is, the flexible optical modems can
significantly reduce initial costs by providing extra capacity that
can be used for restoration, short-lived on-demand connections, or
excess capacity with lower service-level agreements (SLAs). In
conjunction with the foregoing, the systems and methods also
include integration of this extra capacity with a management
system, management plane, and/or control plane in the network 10 or
other networks.
Managing Excess Optical Capacity and Margin
[0055] Referring to FIG. 3, in an exemplary embodiment, a flowchart
illustrates a method 100 for managing excess optical capacity and
margin in optical networks. The method 100 contemplates operation
in the network 10 and other optical networks including flexible
optical modems for variable capacity channels (and optionally with
fixed capacity channels present as well.) The method 100 can be
implemented on a single channel or wavelength of a flexible optical
modem. The method 100 can be implemented on multiple channels
concurrently or in series. For example, in series, each iteration
of the method 100 may affect each subsequent iteration as the
increased bandwidth of one channel may reduce the excess margin of
the next. Performed concurrently, the method 100 may be based on a
local determination of excess margin at each flexible optical modem
without regard for collocated channels. The concurrent method could
be independent (as stated) or in concert. Independent meaning that
it is done per-channel without regard for other collocated
channels, and in concert meaning that the margin of each channel is
calculated taking into account the effect of the other collocated
channels. This requires a "master" or nodal controller to
amalgamate the channel information and perform the calculation.
[0056] The method 100 includes determining excess margin relative
to a nominally guaranteed rate of a flexible optical modem (step
102). The nominally guaranteed rate can be the rate at which the
flexible optical modem is configured to operate with a full-fill on
the associated optical line. Also, the nominally guaranteed rate
can be the rate that is guaranteed through link engineering to work
under any conceivable condition on the optical line such as
full-fill. The excess margin (in dB) is the extra margin that the
flexible optical modem presently sees given the current conditions
on the optical line (e.g., channel count). That is, the excess
margin is determined relative to margin needed to ensure
performance at a nominally guaranteed rate. As stated herein, it is
expected that on first-in deployments, the flexible optical modem
may see significant margin given the engineering requirement to
design for the worst case (i.e., full-fill).
[0057] With the determined excess margin, the method 100 includes
increasing capacity of the flexible optical modem to consume most
or all of the excess margin (step 104). Thus, the flexible optical
modem supports a nominally guaranteed rate for guaranteed bandwidth
and an excess rate for excess bandwidth where the excess rate minus
the nominally guaranteed rate equals the excess capacity. Here, the
method 100 can use all of the excess margin or most of it, leaving
a small amount (e.g., 1 dB or less) for the cushion to ensure the
nominally guaranteed rate.
[0058] Next, the method 100 includes mapping the excess capacity to
one or more logical interfaces (step 106). The logical interfaces
are typically 1:1 mapped to physical interfaces. Specifically, the
logical interfaces are used by a management system, management
plane, and/or control plane to map physical interfaces onto the
optical line. Exemplary logical interfaces can be defined in terms
of bandwidth such as, for example, 155 Mpbs (Synchronous Transport
Signal-level 1 (STS-1) or VC3), N.times.155 Mpbs (N.times.STS-1), 1
Gbps (GbE), 2.5 Gbps (OC-48/STM-1, OTU1, ODU1), 10 Gbps
(OC-192/STM-64, OTU2, ODU2, 10 GbE), 40 Gbps (OC-768/STM-256, OTU3,
ODU3, 40 GbE), 100 Gbs (OTU4, ODU4, 100 GbE), variable capacity
ODUFlex, and the like. The logical interfaces can also be defined
by signal type such as, for example, sub-network connections
(SNCs), label switched paths (LSPs), 2F/4F BLSRs, 1+1/1:1 APS
lines, UPSRs, VPSRs, 0:1 unprotected lines, etc. That is, the
logical interfaces represent anything that allows the management
system, management plane, and/or control plane to utilize the
excess physical capacity from the method 100 in a network along
with various switches.
[0059] The management system, management plane, and/or control
plane are configured to recognize the excess capacity is terms of
the associated logical interfaces and to allow physical hardware at
the network elements 12 to support these extra logical interfaces.
From a hardware perspective, the extra logical interfaces are
formed on the optical line via the flexible optical modems in
accordance with the method 100. At the network elements 12 or
collocated therewith, switches can be configured to process the
extra logical interfaces through associated switching fabrics.
Again, the management system, management plane, and/or control
plane recognize these additional logical interfaces as extra
traffic without requiring additional hardware (assuming the
switching fabrics can support the additional capacity). Note, FIGS.
6-7 illustrate an exemplary network element 12 and associated
control module for use with the systems and methods described
herein.
[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, the method 100 includes flagging
the bandwidth created in step 106 on the one or more logical
interfaces as excess capacity. For example, the flagging can
include notifying the management system, management plane, and/or
control plane that the one or more logical interfaces are excess
capacity. The reason is to flag to the management system,
management plane, and/or control plane is that this capacity can
disappear, and this needs to be accounted for. The method 100 can
be periodically reiterated for each flexible optical modem. For
example, the method 100 can be reiterated at set intervals or based
on an occurrence such as channel additions/deletions to the optical
lines or margin changes/erosion on the optical lines. With each
iteration of the method 100, it is possible that the one or more
logical interfaces could disappear or increase. For example, if
channels are added to a line and the method 100 is rerun, the
excess capacity could be decreased since the additional channels
will likely reduce the excess margin. With a reduction in the
excess capacity, some or all of the logical interfaces based
thereon could disappear as the flexible optical modem scales back
bandwidth or returns to the nominally guaranteed rate.
[0061] Accordingly, in an exemplary aspect, the method 100
contemplates using these logical interfaces based on the excess
capacity for restoration bandwidth in new or low-fill optical
networks as well as for bandwidth-on-demand, i.e. short-lived SNCs
or LSPs, etc., and lower cost bandwidth with minimal SLA
requirements. Specifically, in first-in builds, the method 100 can
significantly reduce costs using the logical interfaces based on
the excess capacity as mesh restoration SNCs or LSPs. This can
defer the cost of additional optical interfaces to form unused
capacity that is dedicated to restoration. Thus, in first-in
builds, all optical hardware can be utilized for revenue
generation.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 4, in an exemplary embodiment, a flow
chart illustrates another method 200 for managing excess optical
capacity and margin in optical networks. The method 200 is similar
to the method 100 and provides additional details. Similarly, the
method 200 contemplates operation in the network 10 and other
optical networks, including flexible optical modems for variable
capacity channels (and optionally with fixed capacity channels
present as well.) The method 200 can be implemented on a single
channel or wavelength of a flexible optical modem. The method 200
can be implemented on multiple channels concurrently or in series.
For example, in series, each iteration of the method 200 may affect
each subsequent iteration as the increased bandwidth of one channel
may reduce the excess margin of the next. Performed concurrently,
the method 200 may be based on a local determination of excess
margin at each flexible optical modem without regard for collocated
channels. The concurrent method could be independent (as stated) or
in concert. Independent meaning that it is done per-channel without
regard for other collocated channels, and in concert meaning that
the margin of each channel is calculated taking into account the
effect of the other collocated channels. This requires a "master"
or nodal controller to amalgamate the channel information and
perform the calculation.
[0063] The method 200 includes computing or providing a route for a
network demand (step 202). The network demand is a guaranteed
amount of bandwidth needed in the network between two optical
network elements 12, e.g. 10 G, 40 G, 100 G, etc. The method 200
can receive an explicit route or calculate a route using control
plane techniques. Next, the method 200 includes determining path
viability for the route and the network demand for an ideal
bit-rate using a forecast tolerant modeling scheme (step 204). For
example, this functionality can be performed in a management
system, an optical modeling system, etc., and this functionality
includes determining the guaranteed wavelength capacity under
worst-case conditions such as at full-fill, etc. That is, the
forecast tolerant modeling scheme ensures the network demand can be
serviced by the route regardless of future constraints. The step
204 could also optionally include a wavelength assignment. The
selection of wavelength could take into account the selection of
wavelengths currently available (not in use).
[0064] Next, the method 200 includes determining path viability for
the route and a maximum supported capacity on the existing network
(step 206). The step 206 could also optionally include a wavelength
assignment. The selection of wavelength, in this case, could differ
from the step 204 in that it could select wavelengths which
maximize the potential excess bandwidth. For example, it could
choose to separate wavelengths from those already in service or to
allocate a different spectral width to the channel being routed.
The wavelength assignment in this step could change the wavelength
previously chosen in step 204. Alternatively, this excess bandwidth
aware wavelength assignment could be applied in step 204.
[0065] Step 204 looks at the worst case, whereas step 206 looks at
current conditions (i.e., right now without adding in a margin for
added channels or end-of-life operation). Step 204 determines the
guaranteed wavelength capacity while step 206 determines the
current maximum wavelength capacity. It is the delta between these
two scenarios that constitutes the excess margin and capacity
opportunities with flexible optical modems. From a computation
perspective, assign the value determined in step 206 as Max
and:
Max_Engineered=Max-.delta..sub.margin
where Max_Engineered is the maximum currently supported bandwidth,
Max is the result of step 206 (i.e., the maximum physical
bandwidth), and .delta..sub.margin is a small engineering margin
simply to avoid a signal degrade threshold and this value can be 0
or a small amount such as <1 dB. The result of step 204 can be
denoted as Guaranteed, i.e. the guaranteed wavelength capacity.
Accordingly:
Excess=Max_Engineered-Guaranteed
where Excess is the additional excess capacity currently supported
that can be mined by the method 200 (or the method 100).
[0066] Next, the method 200 includes installing and/or activating a
wavelength in the network at the Max_Engineered rate with a logical
interface thereon supporting the guaranteed rate for the network
demand and one or more logical interfaces providing the excess
capacity (step 208). Here, the method 200, similar to the method
100, can provide these one or more logical interfaces from the
excess capacity to a management plane and a switching plane for use
thereof as restoration capacity, bandwidth-on-demand (BOD),
short-lived services, etc. The method 200 can implement the various
functionality described in the method 100 as well for implementing
the one or more logical interfaces from the excess capacity.
[0067] The method 200 will operate with the logical interface
supporting the guaranteed rate and with the one or more logical
interfaces providing the excess capacity until a margin erosion,
signal degradation, or other change (step 210). Again, it is
expected at the client layer that the logical interface for the
guaranteed capacity can be used for any service request, but
specifically long-lived traffic. On the other hand, the client
layer could use the excess capacity for any service request, but it
would be prudent only to use it for temporary traffic (e.g.
restoration traffic, bandwidth-on-demand with a known termination
date and time, etc.). In the method 200, if there is margin
erosion, or a signal degrade crossing (step 210), the flexible
optical modem can drop the excess capacity and hitlessly revert
back to the guaranteed bit-rate (step 212). In this way, the excess
margin is now used to make up for the margin erosion or the signal
degrade crossing and not for the excess capacity. The excess
capacity is lost, but the guaranteed capacity is protected from the
margin erosion or the signal degrade crossing.
[0068] Once stability has been achieved for a set amount of time
(e.g., 5 minutes, 2 hours, etc.) (step 214), the method 200 can
include performing path viability for the route and a maximum
supported capacity on the existing network (step 216). The step 216
is similar to the step 206. Once it is determined what excess
margin exists after stability, the flexible optical modem can
hitlessly increase its rate based on the maximum supported rate
from the step 216 (and the guaranteed rate from the step 204).
Also, if a path completely fails, then an alternate path is
computed (per typical control plane behavior) and installed. The
method 200 can operate as well on the new alternate path. For
example, the method 200 can be implemented subsequent to a
protection switch after stability is achieved.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 5, in an exemplary embodiment, a flow
chart illustrates a coexistence method 300 for managing excess
optical capacity and margin in optical networks with both variable
capacity channels and fixed capacity channels intermixed.
Specifically, the coexistence method 300 contemplates operation
along with the methods 100, 200 in the network 10 and other optical
networks, including flexible optical modems for variable capacity
channels and with fixed capacity channels present as well. The
coexistence method 300 begins with an assumption that any excess
margin on a fixed capacity channel is unusable as discussed herein.
The coexistence method 300 looks for opportunities to reduce this
unusable excess margin to increase the excess margin on variable
capacity channels for increased excess capacity according to the
methods 100, 200.
[0070] The method 300 includes one or more variable capacity
channels operating or planned on being operated on a same optical
line or link as one or more fixed capacity channels (step 302). The
method 300 can be implemented at various stages--in new systems
where just a couple of channels are used all the way up to
full-fill. The method 300 checks if there is an excess margin for
any of the fixed capacity channels (step 304), and if not, the
method 300 ends (step 306). If there is an excess margin on any of
the fixed capacity channels (step 304), the method 300 utilizes
various techniques to mine this excess margin for the benefit of
the variable capacity channels (which in turn can implement the
methods 100, 200 whereas the fixed capacity channels cannot).
[0071] The method 300 can include positioning or ensuring the
variable capacity channels are located adjacent to fixed capacity
channels on the optical spectrum (step 308). That is, it is
advantageous for the method 300 to have fixed capacity channels
adjacent to the variable capacity channels as opposed to separating
these channels on the spectrum. The method 300 includes
intentionally increasing performance of the variable capacity
channels at the expense of the fixed capacity channels (with excess
margin) to reduce the excess margin for the fixed capacity channels
while concurrently increasing the excess margin for the variable
capacity channel (step 310). In a way, it can be said that the
method 300 intentionally harms the fixed capacity channels to
remove the excess margin so it can be used by the variable capacity
channels.
[0072] The method 300 contemplates various options for adjusting
both the fixed capacity channels with excess margin and the
variable capacity channels. For example, the fixed capacity
channels could be transmitted at lower output powers to make these
channels less intrusive to neighboring variable capacity channels
and, therefore, increase the performance of the neighboring
variable capacity channels. Further, the fixed capacity channels
could be transmitted at a reduced baud rate and increased signal
density to transmit in a format that takes more OSNR but uses less
spectrum. Also, the variable capacity channel can intrude into the
spectrum of the fixed capacity channel. For example, in FIG. 2, the
variable capacity channel can extend 10 GHz into each of its
neighbors to support 70 GHz of bandwidth versus 50 GHz thereby
providing an additional margin for the variable capacity
channel.
[0073] The method 300 can install or increase bit-rate of the
variable capacity channels based on the increased performance and
margin "stolen" from the fixed capacity channels and map this
excess capacity to one or more logical interfaces such as described
in the methods 100, 200 (step 312). In an exemplary embodiment, a
method includes determining excess margin relative to margin needed
to ensure performance at a nominally guaranteed rate associated
with a flexible optical modem configured to communicate over an
optical link; causing the flexible optical modem to consume most or
all of the excess margin, wherein the capacity increased above the
nominally guaranteed rate includes excess capacity; and mapping the
excess capacity to one or more logical interfaces for use by a
management system, management plane, and/or control plane. The
method can further include utilizing the one or more logical
interfaces by the management system, management plane, and/or
control plane as one of restoration bandwidth or short-lived
bandwidth-on-demand connections. The method can further include
determining the excess margin relative to the nominal guaranteed
rate through the steps of: determining path viability of a network
demand over the optical link for an ideal bit-rate using a forecast
tolerant modeling scheme; determining path viability for a maximum
supported capacity over the optical link based on existing
conditions on the optical link; and determining the excess margin
as a difference between the path viability for a maximum supported
capacity and the path viability of the network demand along with
including a small engineering margin. The method can further
include detecting margin erosion, or a signal degrade on the
flexible optical modem, and dropping the excess capacity and
hitlessly reverting to the nominally guaranteed rate. The method
can further include after a period of stability subsequent to the
margin erosion or the signal degrade, determining again the path
viability for a new maximum supported capacity over the optical
link based on existing conditions on the optical link; and
hitlessly increasing a rate of the flexible optical modem based on
the new maximum supported capacity.
[0074] The method can further include updating the determined
excess margin relative to the nominally guaranteed rate in the
flexible optical modem responsive to channels added or deleted on
the optical link. The flexible optical modem can form a variable
capacity channel, wherein the optical link can include a fixed
capacity channel adjacent to the variable capacity channel, and the
method can further include determining excess margin for the fixed
capacity channel that is unusable since the fixed capacity channel
cannot modify its rate; increasing performance of the variable
capacity channel and/or decreasing performance of the fixed
capacity channel based on the excess margin for the fixed capacity
channel; and increasing bit-rate of the variable capacity channel
based on margin gained by the increased performance of the variable
capacity channel and/or the decreased performance of the fixed
capacity channel. The method can further include increasing
performance of the variable capacity channel including extending
associated optical spectrum into optical spectrum from the fixed
capacity channel; and decreasing performance of the fixed capacity
channel includes any of lowering output power to make the fixed
capacity channel less intrusive to the variable capacity channel,
or transmitting at a reduced baud rate and/or increased signal
density to transmit in a format that uses less of the optical
spectrum. The method can further include operating a control plane,
and utilizing the one or more logical interfaces for restoration
sub-network connections or label switched paths.
[0075] In another exemplary embodiment, a network element includes
at least one flexible optical modem; and a controller configured
to: determine excess margin relative to margin needed to ensure
performance at a nominal guaranteed rate associated with the at
least one flexible optical modem configured to communicate over an
optical link; cause the at least one flexible optical modem to
consume most or all of the excess margin, wherein the capacity
increased above the nominally guaranteed rate includes excess
capacity; and map the excess capacity to one or more logical
interfaces for use by a management system, management plane, and/or
control plane. The controller can be further configured to utilize
the one or more logical interfaces as one of restoration bandwidth
or short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections. The controller can
be further configured to determine the excess margin relative to
the nominal guaranteed rate through the steps of: determine path
viability of a network demand over the optical link for an ideal
bit-rate using a forecast tolerant modeling scheme; determine path
viability for a maximum supported capacity over the optical link
based on existing conditions on the optical link; and determine the
excess margin as a difference between the path viability for a
maximum supported capacity and the path viability of the network
demand along with including a small engineering margin. The
controller can be further configured to detect margin erosion or a
signal degrade on the at least one flexible optical modem, and drop
the excess capacity and hitlessly reverting to the nominally
guaranteed rate.
[0076] The controller can be further configured to, after a period
of stability subsequent to the margin erosion or the signal
degrade, determine again the path viability for a new maximum
supported capacity over the optical link based on existing
conditions on the optical link; and hitlessly increase a rate of
the flexible optical modem based on the new maximum supported
capacity. The controller can be further configured to update the
determined excess margin relative to the nominally guaranteed rate
in the at least flexible optical modem responsive to channels added
or deleted on the optical link. The at least one flexible optical
modem can form a variable capacity channel, wherein the optical
link includes a fixed capacity channel adjacent to the variable
capacity channel, and the controller can be further configured to
determine excess margin for the fixed capacity channel that is
unusable since the fixed capacity channel cannot modify its rate;
increase performance of the variable capacity channel and/or
decreasing performance of the fixed capacity channel based on the
excess margin for the fixed capacity channel; and increase a
bit-rate of the variable capacity channel based on margin gained by
the increase performance of the variable capacity channel and/or
the decreased performance of the fixed capacity channel. The
controller can be further configured to increase performance of the
variable capacity channel including extending associated optical
spectrum into optical spectrum from the fixed capacity channel; and
decrease performance of the fixed capacity channel including the of
lowering output power to make the fixed capacity channel less
intrusive to the variable capacity channel, or transmitting at a
reduced baud rate and/or increased signal density to transmit in a
format that uses less of the optical spectrum. The controller can
be further configured to operate a control plane, and utilize the
one or more logical interfaces for the restoration of sub-network
connections or label switched paths.
[0077] In yet another exemplary embodiment, a network includes a
plurality of interconnected network elements, at least one link in
the network formed between two of the plurality of interconnected
network elements is formed by flexible optical modems; a control
plane communicatively coupled to the plurality of interconnected
network elements; and a controller communicatively coupled to the
flexible optical modems and configured to: determine excess margin
needed to ensure performance at a nominally guaranteed rate over
the at least one link; cause the flexible optical modems to consume
most or all of the excess margin, wherein the capacity increased
above the nominally guaranteed rate includes excess capacity; and
map the excess capacity to one or more logical interfaces for use
by the control plane. The controller can be further configured to
utilize the one or more logical interfaces as one of restoration
bandwidth or short-lived bandwidth-on-demand connections.
Exemplary Network Element
[0078] Referring to FIG. 6, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates an exemplary network element 12 for use with
the methods and systems described herein. In an exemplary
embodiment, the exemplary network element 12 can be a network
element that may consolidate the functionality of a multi-service
provisioning platform (MSPP), digital cross-connect (DCS), Ethernet
and/or Optical Transport Network (OTN) switch, dense wave division
multiplexed (DWDM) platform, etc. into a single, high-capacity
intelligent switching system providing Layer 0, 1, and 2
consolidation. In another exemplary embodiment, the network element
12 can be any of an OTN add/drop multiplexer (ADM), a SONET/SDH/OTN
ADM, a multi-service provisioning platform (MSPP), a digital
cross-connect (DCS), an optical cross-connect, an optical switch, a
router, a switch, a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
terminal, an access/aggregation device, etc. That is, the network
element 12 can be any digital system with ingress and egress
digital signals and switching therebetween of channels, timeslots,
tributary units, wavelengths, etc. utilizing OTN, SONET, SDH, etc.
Alternatively, the network element 12 can exclude digital switching
and solely provide optical switching and/or transmission. While the
network element 12 is generally shown as an optical network
element, the systems and methods contemplated for use with any
switching fabric, network element, or network based thereon.
[0079] In an exemplary embodiment, the network element 12 includes
common equipment 410, one or more line modules 420, and one or more
switch modules 430. The common equipment 410 can include power; a
control module; operations, administration, maintenance, and
provisioning (OAM&P) access; user interface ports; and the
like. The common equipment 410 can connect to a management system
450 through a data communication network 460. The management system
450 can include a network management system (NMS), element
management system (EMS), or the like. Additionally, the common
equipment 410 can include a control plane processor configured to
operate a control plane as described herein. The network element 12
can include an interface 470 for communicatively coupling the
common equipment 410, the line modules 420, and the switch modules
430 therebetween. For example, the interface 470 can be a
backplane, midplane, a bus, optical or electrical connectors, or
the like. The line modules 420 are configured to provide ingress
and egress to the switch modules 430 and external to the network
element 12. In an exemplary embodiment, the line modules 420 can
form ingress and egress switches with the switch modules 430 as
center stage switches for a three-stage switch, e.g. a three-stage
Clos switch. Other configurations and/or architectures are also
contemplated. The line modules 420 can include optical
transceivers, such as, for example, 1 Gbps (GbE PHY), 2.5 Gbps
(OC-48/STM-1, OTU1, ODU1), 10 Gbps (OC-192/STM-64, OTU2, ODU2, 10
GbE PHY), 40 Gbps (OC-768/STM-256, OTU3, ODU3, 40 GbE PHY), 100
Gbps (OTU4, ODU4, 100 GbE PHY), etc.
[0080] Further, the line modules 420 can include a plurality of
optical connections per module and each module may include a
flexible rate support for any type of connection, such as, for
example, 155 Mbps, 622 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps,
100 Gbps, 400 Gbps, 1 Tbps, and any rate in between. The line
modules 420 can include wavelength division multiplexing
interfaces, short reach interfaces, and the like, and can connect
to other line modules 420 on remote network elements, end clients,
edge routers, and the like. From a logical perspective, the line
modules 420 provide ingress and egress ports to the network element
12, and each line module 420 can include one or more physical
ports. As described herein the line modules 420 can support either
fixed capacity channels or variable capacity channels. The line
modules 420 can be transponders, muxponders, flexible optical
modems, etc. Note, if the network element 12 is a DWDM terminal,
the switch modules 430 may be omitted and the line modules 420 act
as transponders, muxponders, etc. It is assumed that a switch
device is at some point connected to the DWDM terminal to support
the one or more logical interfaces that are formed from the excess
capacity.
[0081] The switch modules 430 are configured to switch channels,
timeslots, tributary units, etc. between the line modules 420. For
example, the switch modules 430 can provide wavelength granularity
(Layer 0 switching), SONET/SDH granularity such as Synchronous
Transport Signal-1 (STS-1) and variants/concatenations thereof
(STS-n/STS-nc), Synchronous Transport Module level 1 (STM-1) and
variants/concatenations thereof, Virtual Container 3 (VC3), etc.;
OTN granularity such as Optical Channel Data Unit-1 (ODU1), Optical
Channel Data Unit-2 (ODU2), Optical Channel Data Unit-3 (ODU3),
Optical Channel Data Unit-4 (ODU4), Optical Channel Data Unit-flex
(ODUflex), Optical channel Payload Virtual Containers (OPVCs),
ODTUGs, etc.; Ethernet packet granularity; Digital Signal n (DSn)
granularity such as DS0, DS1, DS3, etc.; and the like.
Specifically, the switch modules 630 can include both Time Division
Multiplexed (TDM) (i.e., circuit switching) and packet switching
engines. The switch modules 430 can include redundancy as well,
such as 1:1, 1:N, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, the switch
modules 430 provide OTN, SONET, or SDH switching.
[0082] Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the
network element 12 can include other components which are omitted
for illustration purposes, and that the systems and methods
described herein are contemplated for use with a plurality of
different network elements with the network element 12 presented as
an exemplary type of network element. For example, in another
exemplary embodiment, the network element 12 may not include the
switch modules 430, but rather have the corresponding functionality
in the line modules 420 (or some equivalent) in a distributed
fashion or completely omit the corresponding functionality as in
the case of a DWDM terminal. For the network element 12, other
architectures providing ingress, egress, and switching therebetween
are also contemplated for the systems and methods described herein.
In general, the systems and methods described herein contemplate
use with any network element providing switching and/or transport
of OTN, SONET, SDH, etc. channels, timeslots, tributary units,
wavelengths, packets, etc. Furthermore, the network element 12 is
merely presented as one exemplary implementation for the systems
and methods described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art
will recognize the systems and methods can be used for practically
any type of network element that includes flexible optical modems
for supporting variable capacity channels.
Exemplary Controller
[0083] Referring to FIG. 7, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates a controller 500 to provide control plane
processing and/or operations, administration, maintenance, and
provisioning (OAM&P) for the network element 12. The controller
500 can be part of the common equipment, such as common equipment
410 in the network element 12. The controller 500 can include a
processor 502 which is a hardware device for executing software
instructions such as operating the control plane. The processor 502
can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a
central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several
processors associated with the controller 500, a
semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or
chip set), or generally any device for executing software
instructions. When the controller 500 is in operation, the
processor 502 is configured to execute software stored within
memory, to communicate data to and from the memory, and to
generally control operations of the controller 500 pursuant to the
software instructions. The controller 500 can also include a
network interface 504, a data store 506, memory 508, an I/O
interface 510, and the like, all of which are communicatively
coupled therebetween and with the processor 502.
[0084] The network interface 504 can be used to enable the
controller 500 to communicate over a network, such as to
communicate control plane information to other controllers, to the
management system 460, to a Software Defined Networking or OpenFlow
controller, and the like. The network interface 504 can include,
for example, an Ethernet card (e.g., 10BaseT, Fast Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) card
(e.g., 802.11a/b/g). The network interface 504 can include address,
control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate
communications on the network. The data store 506 can be used to
store data, such as control plane information, provisioning data,
OAM&P data, etc. The data store 506 can include any of volatile
memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM,
SRAM, SDRAM, and the like)), nonvolatile memory elements (e.g.,
ROM, hard drive, flash drive, CDROM, and the like), and
combinations thereof. Moreover, the data store 506 can incorporate
electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media.
The memory 508 can include any of volatile memory elements (e.g.,
random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)),
nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, flash drive,
CDROM, etc.), and combinations thereof. Moreover, the memory 508
may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types
of storage media. Note that the memory 508 can have a distributed
architecture, where various components are situated remotely from
one another, but may be accessed by the processor 502.
[0085] The I/O interface 510 includes components for the controller
500 to communicate with other devices in a node, such as through
the local interface 514. The components 502, 504, 506, 508, 510)
are communicatively coupled via a local interface 514. The local
interface 514 and the I/O interface 510 can be, for example, but
not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless
connections, as is known in the art. The local interface 514 and
the I/O interface 510 can have additional elements, which are
omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches),
drivers, repeaters, and receivers, among many others, to enable
communications. Further, the local interface 514 and the I/O
interface 510 can include address, control, and/or data connections
to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned
components.
[0086] The network element 12, the controller 500, and associated
optical networks and the like can utilize control plane systems and
methods in addition to or in replace of the standard management
system functionality. Control plane systems and methods provide an
automatic allocation of network resources in an end-to-end manner.
Exemplary control planes may include Automatically Switched Optical
Network (ASON) as defined in G.8080/Y.1304, Architecture for the
automatically switched optical network (ASON) (02/2005), the
contents of which are herein incorporated by reference; Generalized
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Architecture as defined in
Request for Comments (RFC): 3945 (10/2004) and the like, the
contents of which are herein incorporated by reference; Optical
Signaling and Routing Protocol (OSRP) from Ciena Corporation which
is an optical signaling and routing protocol similar to PNNI
(Private Network-to-Network Interface) and MPLS; or any other type
control plane for controlling network elements at multiple layers,
and establishing connections there between. It is essential for the
operation of control planes to have control plane signaling and
Operations, Administration, Maintenance, and Provisioning
(OAM&P) connectivity between nodes.
[0087] It is important to note that the one or more logical
interfaces from the methods 100, 200, 300 are provided to the
control plane and/or management system for use thereof. In the
control plane, the one or more logical interfaces can be used for
path computation, especially for mesh reroutes in failure scenarios
or for short-lived SNC or LSP requests. Thus, the systems and
methods described herein provide the methods 100, 200, 300 for
determining and setting maximum bandwidths on flexible optical
modems, the control plane and/or management system are made aware
of the excess capacity as one or more logical interfaces that are
flagged as excess capacity, and collocated switching fabrics can
use these one or more logical interfaces at the direction of the
control plane and/or management system for various purposes such as
restoration or short-lived SNCs or LSPs.
Hitless Modulation Change System
[0088] Referring to FIG. 8, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates a hitless modulation change system 600 at a
node 12 connected to an optical network 602. The node 12 includes
one or more modems 610, a fabric 620, and, optionally, one or more
client transceivers 630. The modems 610 are flexible optical modems
as described herein, and interface optically via a bi-directional
connection 635 to the optical network 602. The fabric 620 can
include an optical switching fabric (wavelengths), a time division
multiplexing (TDM) fabric (OTN, SONET, SDH, etc.), and/or a packet
switching fabric (Ethernet, MPLS, IP, etc.). Note, the fabric 620
can be implemented in various different devices for different
layers and/or in an integrated manner. Here, in FIG. 8, the fabric
620 is shown as a single logical device for illustration purposes.
The fabric 620 is configured to switch wavelengths, channels,
timeslots, tributary units, and/or packets between and among the
modems 610 as well as the client transceivers 630 (note, in some
exemplary embodiments, the client transceivers 630 may be omitted
in the node 12). The client transceivers 630 are for local add/drop
of connections from the node 12.
[0089] The node 12 and the optical network 602 can include a
control plane 640. Note, the connections formed through the fabric
620 between and among the modems 610 and/or the client transceivers
630 can be referred to as a data plane. The control plane 640 is a
separate management plane to control the connections in the data
plane. Again, as described herein, the control plane 640 can
include ASON, GMPLS, OSRP, etc., as well as other management
mechanisms such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Path
Computation Element (PCE), and the like. That is, the control plane
640 represents any mechanism for automatically allocating the
connections within the optical network 602 through the node 12.
[0090] As described herein, the node 12 and the modems 610, as
flexible optical modems, support variable and flexible modulation
schemes meant to maximize optical capacity. For the hitless
modulation scheme change systems and methods, the node 12 includes
or is communicatively coupled to a control agent 650 with the
ability to probe the optical network 602 to determine not only that
a change is warranted and acceptable, but also to determine the
parameters of the impact of the traffic carrying capability of the
channels, and provide a mechanism to perform the change without
impacting traffic. Specifically, the control agent 650 can be an
autonomous system that coordinates between the modems 610 and the
fabric 620 to ensure that any modulation change in a particular
modem 610 is hitless to all underlying connections currently on the
modem 610. This can be done through rerouting of the underlying
connections via the fabric 620 and/or the control plane 640 during
a modulation change process, and reverting the underlying
connections back to the modem 610 subsequent to completion of the
modulation change process. In this manner, the modulation change
process is hitless to the underlying connections, the underlying
connections are rerouted per existing control plane behavior for
restorations, and an end user does not have to manage manually the
modulation change process.
[0091] The control agent 650 contemplates operation locally or
remotely relative to the node 12. In an exemplary embodiment, the
control agent 650 is implemented in the controller 500. In another
exemplary embodiment, the control agent 650 is implemented in the
management system 450 or an SDN controller or application. Various
other embodiments are also contemplated. The control agent 650 is
communicatively coupled to the modems 610, to the control plane
640, the SDN controller, the management system 450, and/or to the
fabric 620. The control agent 650 can be configured to perform
various functions described herein, such as determining a
modulation change is warranted and supported, determining the
impact of the modulation change, causing rerouting of connections
impacted by the modulation change, and the like. That is, the
control agent 650 implements an autonomous self-optimization of the
modems 610 in the optical network 602. Importantly, the control
agent 650 works with existing functionality in the optical network
602 and the control plane 640, treating the underlying connections
as per standard restoration procedures while a modulation change
occurs. In this manner, network behavior is preserved, and the
underlying connections are minimally impacted due to the modulation
change (i.e., hitless based on the underlying restoration
technique).
[0092] The approach contemplated herein can be referred to as a
bottom-up approach in that a modulation change is determined, and
the control agent 650 performs rerouting of the underlying
connections first, with the control plane 640, etc., prior to
implementing the modulation change. Thus, the modulation change can
be implemented safely without impacting the underlying connections,
without adjustments at run-time, and without needing to minimize
the length of the modulation change. The control agent 650 can be
informed once the modulation change is complete and verified, and
cause reversion of the underlying connections. The control agent
650 allows a bottom-up approach that is less complex (using
existing functionality rather than adding extra functionality), is
autonomous, and enables better temporal average spectral efficiency
of the modems 610 and the optical network 602. Additionally, the
control agent 650 can implement all or part of the methods 100,
200, 300 described herein.
Hitless Modulation Change Method
[0093] Referring to FIG. 9, in an exemplary embodiment, a flow
chart illustrates a hitless modulation change method 700 which can
be implemented through the control agent 650 in coordination with
the modem 610, the control plane 640, etc. The hitless modulation
change method 700 includes determining that a modulation change is
needed on one of the modems 610 (step 702). This determination can
be as described herein, e.g. excess margin available, decrease in
the margin, etc. Note, the hitless modulation change method 700 is
described with reference to a single modem 610; however, the
hitless modulation change method 700 can be implemented
concurrently for multiple modems 610 as required. The modulation
change includes going from a first modulation to a second
modulation, and the either the first modulation or the second
modulation can provide more capacity, i.e. the modulation change
can be an increase or decrease.
[0094] The hitless modulation change method 700 includes
determining the impact of the modulation change (step 704). The
impact includes which underlying connections are affected by the
modulation change, a length of time of the modulation change
(either estimated or calculated), and the like. Here, the hitless
modulation change method 700 can determine which connections will
be affected by the modulation change and about how long the
modulation change will require. For example, the modem 610 can
report a length of time the modulation change will take, based on
the first modulation and the second modulation, link conditions,
line measurements, etc.
[0095] Next, the hitless modulation change method 700 can cause
rerouting of any underlying connections which will be impacted by
the modulation change (step 706). Note, the hitless modulation
change method 700 can also support local buffering of data and
retransmission subsequent to completion of the modulation change;
however, this is likely complex and costly due to the amount of
bandwidth required. The hitless modulation change method 700 can
cause rerouting by alerting the control plane 640 of which
connections are affected, to allow the control plane 640 to reroute
the connections per existing restoration techniques in the optical
network 602, and optionally, provide the length of time so the
control plane 640 could implement an automatic reversion. Thus, the
hitless modulation change method 700 utilizes the control plane 640
to coordinate a data path change in the data plane to accommodate
the modulation change without interruption to the data flow.
[0096] Note, the rerouting of the underlying connections is per
normal restoration techniques which may include mesh restoration
via the control plane, 1+1/1:1 Automatic Protection Switching
(APS), Subnetwork Connection Protection (SNCP), rings (BLSR, UPSR,
etc.), G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS) (ITU-T
Recommendation G.8032/Y.1344 (02/12) Ethernet ring protection
switching, the contents of which are incorporated by reference
herein), Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) protection, and the
like. That is, the control plane can use whatever techniques are
currently available in the data plane for rerouting/restoring
connections in the event of a fault. Here, the modulation change
can be effectively viewed as a future fault that is mitigated in
advance, ensuring no traffic impact.
[0097] However, a planned change in a channel path, in this case
triggered by the desire to change modulation formats, can be much
less of a hit, in terms of time, than a restoration/protection
event driven by a failure. This is because the failure must be
detected before the switch/re-route can take place. By this time,
it's already too late, so to speak--as data has already been lost.
In the case of a maintenance event, such as in this use case, one
can perform what is called a "bridge and roll" where the new path
is brought up by duplicating the data across the new path. In this
case, even a very simple switch can be used, in which case the data
which is "lost" is only due to the differential delay in the two
paths. It is also possible to adjust or align to the new path
before switching in which case there is no hit whatsoever. Thus, as
described herein, the modulation change is hitless or substantially
hitless (traffic loss is only due to the differential delay in the
two paths which is typically less than 50 ms).
[0098] Once all the underlying connections are accounted for,
either by rerouting or buffering, the hitless modulation change
method 700 includes causing the modulation change (step 708). Here,
the control agent 650 can signal to the modem 610 that it can
implement the modulation change. The hitless modulation change
method 700 waits for the modulation change to complete and
verification (step 710). Note, it is expected the modulation change
will take from about is to multiple seconds. If there is a failure
in the modulation change, the modem 610 can revert back to the
first modulation. If there is a success, the modem 610 will operate
with the second modulation, and associated components in the modem
610 will adjust and normalize to the line conditions with the
second modulation (dispersion, non-linear effects, etc.). Once the
second modulation is working, the modem 610 can verify successful
operation through various OAM&P parameters such as FEC.
[0099] With proper operation of the second modulation or reversion
back to the first modulation, the hitless modulation change method
700 can include reversion of the underlying connections back to the
modem 610 (step 712). Here, the hitless modulation change method
700 can cause reversion, or the underlying connections can
automatically revert such as based on the length of time plus a
buffer time. Again, the entire hitless modulation change method 700
can be autonomous meaning it requires no user intervention, and it
operates with existing data plane restoration functionality.
SDN Controller/Service for the Application
[0100] Referring to FIG. 10, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates a processing device 900 that can operate the
control agent 650. The processing device 900 can be a digital
computer that, in terms of hardware architecture, generally
includes a processor 902, input/output (I/O) interfaces 904, a
network interface 906, a data store 908, and memory 910. It should
be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that FIG. 10
depicts the processing device 900 in an oversimplified manner, and
a practical embodiment may include additional components and
suitably configured processing logic to support known or
conventional operating features that are not described in detail
herein. The components (902, 904, 906, 908, and 910) are
communicatively coupled via a local interface 912. The local
interface 912 can be, for example but not limited to, one or more
buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the
art. The local interface 912 can have additional elements, which
are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches),
drivers, repeaters, and receivers, among many others, to enable
communications. Further, the local interface 912 can include
address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate
communications among the aforementioned components.
[0101] The processor 902 is a hardware device for executing
software instructions. The processor 902 can be any custom made or
commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU),
an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the
processing device 900, a semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the
form of a microchip or chip set), or generally any device for
executing software instructions. When the processing device 900 is
in operation, the processor 902 is configured to execute software
stored within the memory 910, to communicate data to and from the
memory 910, and to generally control operations of the processing
device 900 pursuant to the software instructions. The I/O
interfaces 904 can be used to receive user input from and/or for
providing system output to one or more devices or components. User
input can be provided via, for example, a keyboard, touchpad,
and/or a mouse. System output can be provided via a display device
and a printer (not shown). I/O interfaces 904 can include, for
example, a serial port, a parallel port, a small computer system
interface (SCSI), a serial ATA (SATA), a fibre channel, Infiniband,
iSCSI, a PCI Express interface (PCI-x), an infrared (IR) interface,
a radio frequency (RF) interface, and/or a universal serial bus
(USB) interface.
[0102] The network interface 906 can be used to enable the
processing device 900 to communicate on a network. The network
interface 906 can include, for example, an Ethernet card or adapter
(e.g., 10BaseT, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GbE) or a
wireless local area network (WLAN) card or adapter (e.g.,
802.11a/b/g/n). The network interface 906 can include address,
control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate
communications on the network. A data store 908 can be used to
store data. The data store 908 can include any of volatile memory
elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM,
SDRAM, and the like)), nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard
drive, tape, CDROM, and the like), and combinations thereof.
Moreover, the data store 908 can incorporate electronic, magnetic,
optical, and/or other types of storage media. In one example, the
data store 908 can be located internal to the processing device 900
such as, for example, an internal hard drive connected to the local
interface 912 in the processing device 900. Additionally in another
embodiment, the data store 908 can be located external to the
processing device 900 such as, for example, an external hard drive
connected to the I/O interfaces 904 (e.g., SCSI or USB connection).
In a further embodiment, the data store 908 can be connected to the
processing device 900 through a network, such as, for example, a
network attached file server.
[0103] The memory 910 can include any of volatile memory elements
(e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM,
etc.)), nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape,
CDROM, etc.), and combinations thereof. Moreover, the memory 910
can incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types
of storage media. Note that the memory 910 can have a distributed
architecture, where various components are situated remotely from
one another, but can be accessed by the processor 902. The software
in memory 910 can include one or more software programs, each of
which includes an ordered listing of executable instructions for
implementing logical functions. The software in the memory 910
includes a suitable operating system (O/S) 914 and one or more
programs 916. The operating system 914 essentially controls the
execution of other computer programs, such as the one or more
programs 516, and provides scheduling, input-output control, file
and data management, memory management, and communication control
and related services. The one or more programs 916 may be
configured to implement the various processes, algorithms, methods,
techniques, etc. described herein.
[0104] In an exemplary embodiment, processing device 900 can be
configured to implement the control agent 650. For example, the
processing device 900 can be an SDN controller or another device
operating an SDN application in communication with the SDN
controller. The processing device 900 can also be a standalone
device in communication with the various components in the hitless
modulation change system 600. The SDN controller can also include
an Application Programming Interface (API) which allows additional
applications to interface with the SDN controller for data
associated with the optical network 602. In an exemplary
embodiment, the control agent 650 can be implemented on the
processing device 900 (or on the processing device 900 operating as
the SDN controller) and receive data through the API. The
processing device 900 can also be a standalone device in
communication with the various components in the hitless modulation
change system 600. Other configurations are also contemplated.
[0105] The processing device 900 can include a queue that performs
the hitless modulation change method 700 on one or more of the
modems 610. Again, the hitless modulation change systems and
methods contemplate operation of the hitless modulation change
method 700 for one or more of the modems 610 simultaneously, as
appropriate. For example, the modems 610 can be managed based on
location in the optical network 602 along with appropriate rules.
One exemplary rule may be that only one modem 610 at a time in a
node 12 can perform the hitless modulation change method 700,
whereas modems 610 in different nodes 12 can perform concurrently.
Also, of note, the hitless modulation change method 700 is
performed at both ends of a connection simultaneously. The control
agent 650 can be a local device that communicates with a peer
control agent 650 to coordinate the modulation change.
Alternatively, the control agent 650 can have a global view and
perform both ends simultaneously, for an optical section.
[0106] Referring to FIG. 11, in an exemplary embodiment, a diagram
illustrates a high speed optical system 1000 in accordance with the
flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods. The optical
system 1000 includes transceivers 12E, 12W interconnected
therebetween by fibers 14A, 14B forming a bidirectional
communication link. Specifically, the transceiver 12W includes a
transmitter (TX) communicatively coupled to a receiver (RX) on the
transceiver 12E via the fiber 14A, and the transceiver 12E includes
a TX communicatively coupled to a RX on the transceiver 12W via the
fiber 14B. Practical, low-power and cost-effective hardware can
only be implemented by leveraging very high levels of
optoelectronic integration in the transceivers 12E, 12W, such that
the full channel capacity goes through a single hardware block.
Further, increasing spectral efficiency of the modulation format
necessarily reduces optical unregenerated reach and may reduce
available system margins. Transponder implementations that satisfy
both high levels of integration, such as the transceivers 12E, 12W,
high capacity requirements, and long unregenerated reaches are
typically implemented with coherent receivers and electronic signal
processing. In an exemplary embodiment, the transceivers 12E, 12W
utilize multi-level modulation and electrical signal processing,
and also support a plurality of different modulation formats in a
same device. Electronic processing of optical signal opens up an
opportunity to dynamically change transceiver characteristics such
that it can adapt overall throughput capacity and spectral
efficiency to link conditions.
[0107] Referring to FIG. 12, in an exemplary embodiment, a
flowchart illustrates a transceiver operation method 1020 in
accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods. The transceiver operation method 1020 can be implemented
on the transceivers 12E, 12W of the optical system 1000. Variously,
the transceiver operation method 1020 may continuously operate
at/on the transceiver 12E, 12W (step 1022). The transceiver
operation method 1020 is configured to continuously monitor SNR
(step 1024), transceiver health (step 1026), and client requests
(step 1028). For example, the transceiver operation method 1020 may
continuously monitor SNR to check if a threshold is crossed (step
1030). Note, in step 1030, the transceiver operation method 1020
checks if the threshold is crossed. The method 1020 can also
operate under additional conditions such as SNR increasing above
another threshold such that additional bandwidth can be supported
through another modulation scheme. That is, generally, the
transceiver operation method 1020 is configured to adapt modulation
based on SNR changes, both positive and negative. The transceiver
operation method 1020 is configured to modify the transceivers
(i.e. steps 1034-1048) based on the monitoring steps 1024, 1026,
1028. In an exemplary embodiment, the focus of the method 1020 is
on payload size adaptation and framing, and on state bandwidth
advertisement to both signal input and output connections, and
advertising same to the corresponding clients.
[0108] The monitoring steps 1024, 1026, 1028 can include sensing
SNR, forward error correction information, signal quality Q, a
symbol error rate, and any other optical performance monitoring
aspects either directly monitored or computed. In an exemplary
embodiment, the method 1020 utilizes SNR, which can be monitored or
calculated by various methods, such as an estimate based on forward
error correction data. Based on the steps 1024, 1026, 1028, the
transceiver operation method 1020 is configured to compute a new,
improved modulation scheme on each wavelength and/or sub-channel of
the transceiver (step 1032). Of note, the transceiver may include
modulation with a plurality of wavelengths and/or sub-channels, and
some of the sub-channels may be disabled due to reduced payload
demands, failures, etc. The transceiver operation method 1020
checks if a new modulation scheme solution is found (step 1034). If
not, the transceiver operation method 1020 signals a failure to a
client (step 1036). The failure may also be communicated to a
management system, to a far end, etc. using in-band or out-of-band
communications. Here, the failure indicates that the transceiver is
unable to adapt to a modulation scheme to support currently
required conditions at the transceiver, e.g. based on the steps
1024, 1026, 1028.
[0109] If a new modulation scheme is found (step 1034), the
transceiver operation method 1020 signals a change to client
connections (step 1038). The transceiver may also internally buffer
data from the clients to make the modulation scheme changes hitless
(step 1040). The transceiver adopts the new optical modulation
format (step 1042), reconfigures data path flows, such as forward
error correction, etc. (step 1044), and signals success to the
clients (step 1046). Subsequent to steps 1036, 1046, the
transceiver operation method 1020 ends and may return to step 1022
for continual monitoring in the steps 1024, 1026, 1028. Of note,
the transceiver operation method 1020 is operated cooperatively at
the transceivers 12E, 12W over the optical system 1000.
[0110] Assume, for purposes of the foregoing description, the
transceiver operation method 1020 is implemented between the
transceiver 12W and the transceiver 12E over the fiber 14A, i.e.
the transmitter of the transceiver 12W is communicatively coupled
to the receiver of the transceiver 12E over the fiber 14A. In a
first exemplary scenario associated with the transceiver operation
method 1020, link SNR drops on the fiber 14A below a margin
acceptable for a current throughput over the fiber 14A. The SNR may
be measured in the electrical domain at the receiver on the
transceiver 12E. In response, the receiver on the transceiver 12E
adapts the channel modulation and reduces overall throughput. This
reduced throughput is advertised to the transmitter on the
transceiver 12W and to associated clients. In a second exemplary
scenario associated with the transceiver operation method 1020, SNR
may recover and increase, and here the receiver on the transceiver
12E may adapt channel modulation to increase overall throughput.
This increased throughput is advertised to the transmitter on the
transceiver 12W and to associated clients.
[0111] The first and second exemplary scenarios are associated with
step 1024 of the transceiver operation method 1020 and focus on
link SNR changing sufficiently to require changes in the optical
modulation format, and impacting overall throughput capacity.
Fiber-optic link Signal to Noise (SNR) can change for a variety of
reasons. Most common are physical fiber bends or kinks, which
induce excess optical loss and may affect both Signal Power and
Optical Signal to Noise (OSNR) at the receiver. These are
frequently observed in metro area networks, where fiber cables
share conduits and access space with other electrical, power and
sewer services, and, therefore, see frequent maintenance personnel
visits. Other reasons may be associated with optical line system
failures, e.g. Raman pump failures, control loop software failures,
various component failures, etc.
[0112] The transceiver operation method 1020 provides an adaptive
solution to bandwidth allocation based on a signal-to-noise (SNR)
and/or receiver input bit error rate (BER) in the optical system
1000. Any maximum overall throughput is contemplated, and the
exemplary embodiments described herein use a 1 Tbps maximum
throughput in a given direction. Systems tend to be bi-directional
or full-duplex in nature, but that is also not required. In an
exemplary embodiment, the transceivers 12E, 12W utilize an
electrical signal processor (ESP) based Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexed (OFDM) architecture, designed to support ten
orthogonal subcarrier channels per wavelength, with each subcarrier
supporting a fixed baud rate of 2.8 GBaud. To achieve 1 Tbps of
unidirectional throughput, the optical system 1000 is polarization
multiplexed on each wavelength (or lambda) and requires five
wavelengths in the system to achieve the advertised maximum
throughput. In an exemplary embodiment, the optical link 1000 uses
a 16-QAM (4-bits/sym or baud) modulation scheme:
2-pols.times.5-lambdas.times.10-subC.times.4-bits/Baud.times.2.8-Gbaud=1.-
12 Tbps.
[0113] Advantageously, the transceiver operation method 1020
provides adaptive, robust and error-free data transport in the
optical system 1000 while experiencing fluctuations in SNR over
time and varying widely (e.g., 1 to 15 dB fluctuations). For a
fixed symbol rate and a given SNR operating point, the optical
system 1000 trades or `selects` the proper energy per bit setting
or spectral efficiency, and data mapping to optimally support a
present operating point on the fibers 14, defined by Es/No (i.e.,
SNR). As the SNR falls, spectral efficiency must follow to maintain
a specified network BER operating point. In optical networking, the
required BER is generally very, very low (typically 10.sup.-12,
10.sup.-15, etc.). The transceiver operation method 1020 uses
channelization and a flexible and reconfigurable, multi-level
digital modulation scheme, which allows for the adaptation of
capacity in reaction to SNR variation. In an exemplary embodiment,
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), 4-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
(QAM) (note, 4-QAM is also referred to as Quadrature Phase Shift
Keying (QPSK)), 8-QAM, 16-QAM, etc. are proposed discrete
modulation levels for the fixed 2.8 Gbaud sub-channels, which can
be changed to accommodate .about.3 dB SNR changes on the line.
Additionally, other discrete modulation levels are also
contemplated such as ring constellations, 64-QAM and higher, and
the like.
[0114] Table below illustrates how increasing constellation size
increases channel capacity, but also require increasing SNR:
TABLE-US-00001 Required Es/No (SNR) Modulation Format Bits/Symbol
at 10.sup.-12 BER (dB) BPSK 1 14.0 4-QAM (QPSK) 2 17.5 8-QAM 3 21.0
16-QAM 4 24.5 32-QAM 5 27.5 64-QAM 6 30.5
[0115] In a third exemplary scenario associated with the
transceiver operation method 1020, a fraction of either of the
transceivers 12E, 12W fails. Here, the transceiver operation method
1020 may reconfigure internal connections, reconfigure bandwidth,
or, if required, perform a protection switch. First, the
transceiver can attempt to reconfigure internal connectivity in
such a way as to continue supporting full capacity over the optical
system 1000, while bypassing failed hardware. This is possible if
there is an excess margin on the optical system 1000.
Alternatively, the transceiver can attempt to reduce the throughput
as outlined in the transceiver operation method 1020. The third
exemplary scenario is associated with step 1026. High-capacity,
highly integrated transceivers (such as the transceivers 12E, 12W)
can use a parallelized architecture. In an exemplary embodiment,
each of the transceivers 12E, 12W uses
2-polarizations.times.5-lambdas.times.10-subC.times.4-bits/Baud.-
times.2.8-Gbaud to provide 1.12 Tbps of line side capacity,
assuming 16-QAM modulation. It is probable that a failure of a
laser, photodetector, electronic circuit block, or an electrical
connection will affect only a small fraction of the overall payload
capacity in the transceivers 12E, 12W. If such a partial failure
occurs and is detected, the transceivers 12E, 12W may reconfigure
modulation format, payload flow, etc. and signal changes to the
client and a far end if such a failure resulted in an overall loss
of payload throughput.
[0116] In a fourth exemplary scenario associated with the
transceiver operation method 1020, the transceiver can reconfigure
bandwidth based on client-side requests (step 1028). The
transceiver operation method 1020, in addition to monitoring signal
quality and hardware health, can also adapt the optical system 1000
based on operational requirement changes from client facilities,
where cost and/or peak use varies due to time of day changes, or
end-user demand fluctuations. One such example would be extremely
high demand situations that is predictable and known in advance,
with an end customer willing to pay a premium for higher
performance. Also the converse of this, where certain wavelength
services require a lower bandwidth connection for cost savings. In
a fifth exemplary scenario associated with the transceiver
operation method 1020, the transceiver operation method 1020 can
prevent protection switching being performed on a full (e.g., 1
Tbps) data payload.
[0117] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, in exemplary embodiments,
diagrams illustrate the optical system 1000 implementing the
transceiver operation method 1020 in accordance with the flexible
bandwidth adaptation systems and methods. In particular, FIG. 13
illustrates exemplary communication aspects of the optical system
1000. The transceivers 12E, 12W may have a service channel 1050
therebetween for communications, and each of the transceivers 12E,
12W may have local communications 1052 therebetween as well as
communications to subtending clients (not shown). The service
channel 1050 may be an in-band or an out-of-band channel. For
example, in-band may include overhead associated with Optical
Transport Network (OTN), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET),
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Ethernet, etc. In-band may
also include an optical service/supervisory channel (OSC), etc.
Out-of-band may include an overlaid data network, such as User
Datagram Protocol (UDP) over Internet Protocol (IP). Accordingly,
the transceivers 12E, 12W are configured to communicate operations,
administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&P)
functionality therebetween. The local communications 1052 mean that
the transmitter and receiver on each of the transceivers 12E, 12W
are in communication therebetween. This may be through such devices
being implemented in the same module, sharing a backplane
connection, having a common controller for OAM&P, etc.
[0118] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary operation of the optical
system 1000. In particular, the optical system 1000 of FIG. 14
assumes in-band communication between the transceivers 12E, 12W,
i.e. the service channel 1050 is carried over the fibers 14A, 14B.
In an exemplary embodiment, the optical system 1000 may include a
blind system recovery following a state-change or network anomaly.
One of the key features of the optical system 1000 is an ability to
change automatically its operating point upon demand, or upon
sensing SNR degradation. The optical system 1000 must be able to do
this even if the optical link degrades severely for a temporary
period. This gives an end user (network provider) a form of
`protection` for some amount of network traffic at various discrete
operating points. End-to-end communication is key to ensure robust,
verifiable operation after a state change.
[0119] For the optical system 1000 and the transceiver operation
method 1020, an in-band communication link is ideal for end-to-end
modulation mode change signaling, but the optical system 1000 has
to recover if that in-band link temporarily becomes degraded or
non-functional due to line SNR degradation. Accordingly, the
optical system 1000 includes several mechanisms for this so-called
blind recovery. Assume the optical system 1000 is normally
operating , in a bi-directional topology, at a particular line SNR
and associated modulation settings. A Line anomaly occurs and one
or both receivers which detect any of a Loss of Frame (LOF), Loss
of Multi-frame (LOM), or degraded SNR, causing the in-band
communication link to fail. The optical system 10 may include two
of the following approaches.
[0120] First, upon receiver SNR change detection, or LOF/LOM
detection, the receiver commands its associated near-end
transmitter to set each sub-channel to a prescribed, but different
modulation format and the receiver does the same. Once demodulation
is detected on at least one sub-carrier, reestablishment of the
in-band communication link can occur, and then can proceed with
appropriate full recovery for measured SNR/desired system
set-point. Second, upon receiver SNR change detection, or LOF/LOM
detection, receiver commands its associated near-end transmitter to
set each sub-channel to fixed modulation format, and have
transmitter change format once every `Y` seconds. The receiver will
also fix and change at much higher rate `Y/10` seconds, ensuring
receiver can hit all formats within transmitter time interval. Once
found, reestablishment of the in-band communication link can occur,
and then can proceed with appropriate full recovery for measured
SNR/desired system set-point.
[0121] In an exemplary embodiment, the transceivers 12E, 12W can
each be configured to move to identical modulation formats in a
predetermined fashion. Specifically, based on SNR changes (better
or worse), the transceivers 12E, 12W can cycle through a
predetermined modulation format change cycle. If the receiver
cannot recover signal, then the transmitter is stepped to the next
modulation format across all sub-channels. For example, the
transmitter and receiver can switch between a predetermined set of
varied modulation formats for specified periods of time. In another
exemplary embodiment, the transmitter and receiver can be
configured to switch between a predetermined set of varied
modulation formats on different sub-carriers to see which ones
work. For Example, sub-carrier 1 to 16 QAM, sub-carrier 2 to 8 PSK,
sub-carrier 3 to QPSK, sub-carrier 4 to BPSK, etc. The end points
will be able to determine which sub-channels are operable and
determine the highest bandwidth option based thereon.
[0122] Referring to FIG. 15, in an exemplary embodiment, a state
diagram illustrates a receive-side method 1060 for the transceivers
12E, 12W in accordance with the flexible bandwidth adaptation
systems and methods. The receive-side method 1060 is implemented in
the receiver of the transceivers 12E, 12W for maintaining an
in-band communication link with a far-end transmitter. The
receive-side method 1060 includes states 1062-1072 and associated
transitions therebetween. First, a state 1062 is a receiver
operating normally, i.e. `status quo.` The receiver may be
initialized to this state and may operate continually in this state
under normal operation. If the receiver experiences an SNR change,
LOF/LOM, etc., the receiver may enter a state 1064 where the
receiver commands its associated near-end transmitter to change its
modulation setting. Note, entry to the state 1064 assume loss of
in-band communications. The receiver proceeds to a state 1066 where
the receiver changes its modulation levels and waits a
predetermined time, X. From the state 1066, if reacquisition occurs
within the predetermined time, to state 1068, then in-band
communication is reestablished and the receiver proceeds back to
the state 1062. If the reacquisition does not occur with the
predetermined time, the receiver enters a state 1070 and the
receiver either has more states to try (i.e., modulation states)
and proceeds back to the state 1066 to retry, or the receiver has
failed with all states, and the receiver goes to a state 1072 where
the receiver must go to a line protection.
[0123] Referring to FIG. 16, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates an exemplary implementation of a transceiver
1100 for use in the optical system 1000 and with the transceiver
operation method 1020. For example, the transceivers 12E, 12W may
include the transceiver 1100. The transceiver 1100 includes both an
optical section 1102 and a data section 1104. The optical section
1102 is generally configured to implement functions related to
modulation scheme change and the like and the data section 1104 is
generally configured to implement bandwidth adaptation based
thereon. The optical section 1102 includes transport optics 1106, a
distributed feedback laser (DFB) array 1108 coupled to the
transport optics 1106, and a digital OFDM processor 1110. The DFB
array 1108 can include a plurality of wavelengths for
modulation/demodulation thereon by the transport optics 1106, and a
thermoelectric cooler (TEC) for maintaining wavelength control.
[0124] The transport optics 1106 include a transmitter optics
section 1112 with sensing and control and a receiver optics section
1114 with a PIN diode and a transimpedance amplifier (TIA). The
transmitter optics section 1112 can connect to a boost/post
amplifier 1116 that may be coupled to the fiber 14A, and the
receiver optics section 1114 can connect to a pre-amplifier 1118
that may be coupled to the fiber 14B. The digital OFDM processor
1110 includes configurable modulators 1120 and configurable
demodulators 1122. The modulators 1120 and the demodulators 1122
are configured to implement the changing of the modulation schemes
as described herein. The modulators 1120 and the demodulators 1122
are configured to communicate with the data section 1104 through a
rate agile serializer/deserializer (SERDES) 1124. The modulators
1120 are configured to communicate with the transmitter optics
section 1112 through digital-analog converters (DACs) 1126. The
demodulators 1122 are configured to communicate with the receiver
optics section 1114 through analog-digital converters (ADCs) 1128.
The demodulators 1122 can be configured to sense/monitor line SNR
for communication to a far-end transceiver 1100 for adjustments
based thereon.
[0125] In an exemplary embodiment, the data section 1104 utilizes
Optical Transport Network (OTN), but those of ordinary skill in the
art will recognize any protocol is contemplated herewith. The data
section 1104 can include an OTN mux/demux framer that can interface
to a switch 1130 for data to exchange with the optical section
1102. For example, the switch 1130 can include a packet switch, a
time division multiplexing (TDM) switch, etc., and can be
communicatively coupled to a cross-connect (XC) interface 1132 in
the data section 1104 through a backplane 1134 or the like. From
the XC interface 1132, the data section 1104 includes a plurality
of lanes each with an Optical channel Data Unit mux/demux 1136, an
OTN FEC/framer 1138, and an OTL stripping block 1140. In operation,
the various components of the data section 1104 are configured to
interface an amount of bandwidth as required to the optical section
1102.
[0126] In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 1100 is a 280
Gbps to 1.12 Tbps SNR-driven adaptive optical transport system. The
transmitter optics section 1112 can support five polarization
multiplexed wavelengths.times.ten sub-channels per wavelength at
2.8 GBaud per sub-channel. The modulators/demodulators 1120, 1122
are digital, programmable modem that can support BPSK, QPSK, 8-QAM,
and 16-QAM. Bandwidth in the transceiver 1100 can be reconfigured
in 2.8 Gbps increments as needed or dictated by SNR. With BPSK,
one-bit/baud symbol is provided for 2.8 Gbps/sub-ch=280 Gbps (ten
sub-channels). With QPSK, two-bit/baud symbol is provided for 5.6
Gbps/sub-ch=560 Gbps (ten sub-channels, 5 wavelengths). With 8-QAM,
three-bit/baud symbol is provided for 8.4 Gbps/sub-ch=840 Gbps (ten
sub-channels, 5 wavelengths). With 16-QAM, four-bit/baud symbol is
provided for 11.2 Gbps/sub-ch=1120 Gbps (ten sub-channels, 5
wavelengths). For the data section 1104, 1120 Gbps: 10.times.112
Gbps can be carried as an Optical channel Transport Unit level 4
(OTU4) per wavelength, 840 Gbps: 10.times.84 Gbps can be carried as
an OTU3.x per wavelength, 560 Gbps: 10.times.56 Gbps can be carried
as an OTU3.y per wavelength, and 280 Gbps: 10.times.28 Gbps can be
carried as an OTU2.y per wavelength. Note, the foregoing describes
the transceiver 100 with non-standard OTN rates (28 G, 56 G, 84 G,
etc.) for illustration purposes, but the flexible bandwidth
adaptation systems and methods contemplate using standard OTN rates
(OTU2/10 G, OTU3/40 G, OTU4/100 G, etc.) or any other rates. Also,
along with transport container rates, those of ordinary skill in
the art will recognize there is no limitation on modulation formats
or overall throughput rate as well. The exemplary embodiments
described herein are provided as illustrative examples.
[0127] Referring to FIG. 17, in an exemplary embodiment, graphs
illustrate symbol error rate versus SNR at BER of 10.sup.-12 for
the transceiver 1100. From these graphs and the table of modulation
formats described herein, it is shown that approximately 3 dB is
required for SNR at each step in the modulation scheme.
[0128] Referring to FIG. 18, in an exemplary embodiment, a block
diagram illustrates the transceiver 1100 focusing on the data
section 1104. In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 1100 uses
OTN transport supporting non-standard rates with ODU and ODUflex
multiplexing. Mapping and timeslot assignments are performed and
managed by the switch 1132 with asynchronous mapping protocol
(AMP), Generic Mapping Protocol (GMP) and Generic Framing
Protocol-Frame (GFP-F) mappings if required. On a client-side of
the transceiver 1100, the transceiver 1100 can support various
tributary types and rates, such as standard ODU(0/1/2/3/4)
tributaries, ODUFlex(Constant Bit Rate (CBR)) and ODUFlex(GFP) for
TDM and Packet-based traffic.
[0129] In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 1100 supports a
variable number of timeslots in the digital section 1104 based on
settings in the optical section 1102. For example, a single
timeslot may be approximately 1.25 Gbps, and the transceiver 1100
can support four discrete bandwidth settings based on SNR, demand,
etc. The four discrete bandwidth settings can include 800
Timeslots, or 1.12 Tb/s aggregate bandwidth at the highest SNR (16
QAM); 600 Timeslots, or 0.840 Tb/s aggregate bandwidth at a level
of the maximum SNR minus 3.5 dB (8-PSK); 400 Timeslots, or 0.560
Tb/s aggregate bandwidth at a level of the maximum SNR minus 7 dB
(QPSK); and 200 Timeslots, or 0.280 Tb/s aggregate bandwidth at a
level of the maximum SNR minus 10 dB (BPSK). In particular, data
units 1160 may include 800 ODU0s, 400 ODU1s, 100 ODU2s, 25 ODU3s,
10 ODU4s, or combinations thereof for the 100-800 timeslots.
[0130] The data units 1160 are managed by the interface 1132 which
is coupled to ten output lines 1162, each of which includes 10 to
80 timeslots. The output lines 1162 are coupled to OTN
framing/deframing circuitry 1164, 1166, 1168 which interfaces the
10 to 80 timeslots to the digital OFDM processor 1110 for
transmission thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, mapping ODUk
signals from the data units 1160 to line port time slots directly
can be used when all OTUk framers 1164, 1166, 1168 are set to an
identical number of time slots and Multi-frame Alignment Signal
(MFAS) is aligned. In another exemplary embodiment, mapping ODUk
signals from the data units 1160 to line port time slots using
Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) to stripe ODUj's across multiple OTUk
framers 1164, 1166, 1168 with varied number of time slots and
random MFAS alignments.
[0131] In an exemplary embodiment, a control plane 1170 may be
utilized with the transceiver 1170 for bandwidth advertisement and
control thereof. Generally, the control plane 1170 includes
software, processes, algorithms, etc. that control configurable
features of a network, such as automating discovery of network
elements, capacity on the links, port availability on the network
elements, connectivity between ports; dissemination of topology and
bandwidth information between the network elements; calculation and
creation of paths for connections; network level protection and
restoration; and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the control
plane 1170 may utilize Automatically Switched Optical Network
(ASON) as defined in G.8080/Y.1304, Architecture for the
automatically switched optical network (ASON) (02/2005), the
contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, and the
like. In another exemplary embodiment, the control plane 1170 may
utilize Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS)
Architecture as defined in Request for Comments: 3945 (10/2004),
the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, and the
like. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the control plane 1170
may utilize Optical Signaling and Routing Protocol (OSRP) from
Ciena Corporation of Linthicum, MD which is an optical routing
protocol similar to PNNI (Private Network-to-Network Interface) and
MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). Those of ordinary skill in
the art will recognize the network and the control plane may
utilize any type control plane for with the transceiver 1100 and
the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods.
[0132] For advertising bandwidth availability, the control plane
1170 can map sub-network connections (SNC) to individual or groups
of time slots on the transceiver 1100. Since each time slot carries
approximately 1.25 Gbps, multiple times slots can be used to cover
SNCs requiring more than 1.25 Gbps. The transceiver 1100 can be
configured to advertise the availability of time slots to the
control plane 1170. For example, time slots can be advertised as
1-800 available for 1 Tbps; 1-600 available for 750 Gbps; 1-400
available for 500 Gbps; 1-200 available for 250 Gbps; 1-10, 21-30,
101-110, 121-130, 201-220, 241-260, 401-440 and 481-500 for 200
Gbps; or any other combination. Additionally, the transceiver 1100
can advertise impending changes in the availability of time slots.
For example, if the SNR monitor detects a falling SNR, the
transceiver 1100 can warn that time slots 401 to 800 will not be
available soon.
[0133] Referring to FIGS. 19-23, in exemplary embodiments,
end-to-end bandwidth operations are illustrated in accordance with
the flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods. In network
deployments, network paths containing endpoints and one or more
intermediate nodes (e.g., regenerators), the bandwidth of the path
is limited by the lowest bandwidth section. Thus, all nodes in the
path have to adjust their throughput to match the lowest throughput
section. As long as the current modulation format on an individual
section can support the path throughput, the modulation format does
not have to change. If an increase in path throughput is desired,
all sections can be checked for SNR to determine if a modulation
format change will allow additional throughput. Coordinating
modulation changes along the path will minimize traffic
interruption. When a single section has to drop bandwidth by a
modulation change, the path can quickly adapt by signaling this
change to all nodes in the path. When one or more sections require
a modulation change to increase bandwidth, the path can quickly
adapt by signaling this change to all nodes in the path.
[0134] In an exemplary embodiment, the flexible bandwidth
adaptation systems and methods can include a method of resizing
line path bandwidth using a Link Capacity Adjustment (LCAS)-like
protocol. Here, Differential Delay Compensation is not required. As
described herein, the transceiver 1100 payload areas are divided
into time slots, and bandwidth affects the number of available time
slots. For Bandwidth Adjustment, requests to increase or decrease
the number of time slots are passed between interfaces using
communications channels, e.g. an out-of-band service channel,
in-band service channel (note, this requires automatic TX and RX
modulation alignment so that the in-band service channel can be
demodulated and decoded). Also, originating, terminating, and
intermediate equipment must participate in the method of resizing
line path bandwidth. Note, the intermediate equipment may or may
not be present.
[0135] The method of resizing line path bandwidth can include
Bandwidth Control Overhead (BWCOH) exchanged between the
originating, terminating, and intermediate equipment. The BWCOH can
include commands of increment (INC) (add subchannel(s) time
slot(s)), decrement (DEC) (remove subchannel(s) time slot(s)),
normal (NRML) (take action from previous increment or decrement
command), and available (for subchannel(s) list maximum supported
time slots based on the control plane 1170). The BWCOH can have a
direction flow of forward (FWD) (from originating node to
terminating node) and backward (BWD) (from terminating node to
originating Node). Additionally, the BWCOH can include status, OK
(command can be supported) or failed (command cannot be supported),
a sub-channel bit field, a set Bit for each channel addressed in
the command, sub-channel time slots, 80/40/20/10/0, and error
checks (CRC over BWCOH).
[0136] In an exemplary embodiment, the originating nodes can
generate FWD increment and FWD decrement commands (along with
available and normal commands); generate FWD decrement command when
receiving a BWD decrement command; and generate NRML command after
generating FWD Increment, decrement and available command and
receiving the matching BWD command. The intermediate nodes can
generate BWD backward decrement command, pass FWD commands and
adjust status and time slots as required, and pass BWD commands
noting status and time slots. The terminating nodes can generate
backward decrement command, and generate BWD command when receiving
FWD command noting status and time slots and adjusting status and
time slots as required.
[0137] FIGS. 19-23 are end-to-end bandwidth operations using the
method of resizing line path bandwidth. Here, there is an
originating network element (NE) 1, four intermediate network
elements 2-5, and a terminating network element 6. FIG. 19 is an
example of the originating NE requesting increment in bandwidth.
Only originating NEs can request increment in time slots (adjust
modulation for more bandwidth). In Step 1, the originating NE Sends
CMD FWD INCR with Status=OK and sub-channel(s) and time slot(s)
identified. In Step 2-5, intermediate NE's check SNR and verify
that a bandwidth increment is OK and pass the FWD command along. In
Step 6, the terminating NE checks SNR and verifies that increment
is OK and generate BWD command along with same contents as received
FWD command. In Steps 7-10, the intermediate NEs pass the BWD
command along noting that status is OK. In Step 11, the originating
NE sends a normal command and since the received increment command
status was OK, increases time slots on addressed sub-channels. In
Steps 12-15, upon receiving the normal command, the intermediate
NEs pass through the normal command, since the received increment
command status was OK, increases time slots on addressed
sub-channels. In Step 16, upon receiving the normal command, the
terminating NE generates the normal command, and since the received
increment command status was OK, increases time slots on addressed
sub channels.
[0138] FIG. 20 is an example of the originating NE requesting
incremental bandwidth where the request for additional time slots
cannot be accommodated at the terminating NE. In Step 1, the
originating NE Sends CMD FWD INCR with Status =OK and
sub-channel(s) and time slot(s) identified. In Step 2-5,
intermediate NE's check SNR and verify that a bandwidth increment
is OK and pass the FWD command along. In Step 6, the terminating NE
checks SNR and determines it cannot increase bandwidth, and changes
the status field to Failed and sends a backward command with
Stat=Failed. In Steps 7-10, Intermediate NEs pass the BWD command
along noting that status is failed. In Step 11, the originating NE
sends a normal command and since the received command increment
status was Failed, no time slot changes are made. In Steps 12-15,
upon receiving the normal command, the intermediate NEs pass
through the normal command and since the received increment command
status was Failed, no time slot changes are made. In Step 16, upon
receiving the normal command, the terminating NE generates the
normal command and since the received increment command status was
Failed, no time slot changes are made.
[0139] FIG. 21 is an example of the originating NE requesting
incremental bandwidth where the request for additional time slots
cannot be accommodated at one of the intermediate NEs. In Step 1,
the originating NE Sends CMD FWD INCR with Status =OK and
sub-channel(s) and time slot(s) identified. In Step 2, the
intermediate NE 2 check SNR and verifies that the increment is OK
and passes FWD command along. In Step 3, the intermediate NE 3
checks SNR and determines it cannot increase bandwidth, and changes
Status field to Failed and sends backward and forward commands with
Stat=Failed. In Step 4, the intermediate NE passes BWD command
along noting that status is failed. In Steps 4-5, the intermediate
NEs pass FWD command along noting that the status is failed. In
Step 5, the originating NE sends a normal command and since the
received command increment status was Failed, no time slot changes
are made. In Steps 6-9, upon receiving the normal command, the
intermediate NEs pass through the normal command and since the
received increment command status was Failed, no time slot changes
are made. In Step 10, upon receiving the normal command,
terminating NE generates the normal command and since the received
increment command status was Failed, no time slot changes are
made.
[0140] FIG. 22 is an example of any node requesting a decrement in
time slots, i.e. adjusting modulation for less bandwidth. In Step
1, the intermediate NE 3 sends a command to decrement bandwidth
(BWD DEC) with Stat=OK, Sub-Channel(s), Time Slot(s), etc. In Step
2, the intermediate NEs pass BWD command along noting that status
is OK. In Step 3, the originating NE notes that the status is OK
and generates an FWD command with the same information. In Steps
4-7, the intermediate NEs check SNR, verify decrement is OK and
pass the FWD command along noting that status is OK. In Step 8, the
terminating NE checks SNR, verifies decrement is OK and generates a
BWD with the same information command along noting that status is
OK. In Step 9-12, the intermediate NEs pass the BWD command along
noting that status is OK. In Step 13, the originating NE generates
a normal command and since the received DEC command status was OK,
decrements times slots and adjusts modulation formats on addressed
sub channels. In Steps 14-17, the intermediate NEs pass the normal
command and since the received DEC command status was OK, decrement
times slots and adjust modulation formats on addressed sub
channels. In Step 18, the terminating node generates a normal
command and since the received DEC command status was OK,
decrements times slots and adjusts modulation formats on addressed
sub channels.
[0141] FIG. 23 is an example of the originating NE requesting
available time slots. Only the originating NE can request available
time slots (i.e., the bandwidth available by changing modulation).
In Step 1, the originating NE Sends a CMD FWD AVAIL with Stat=OK,
Sub-Channel(s), Time Slot(s). In Step 2-5, the intermediate NEs
check SNR and if available time slots are less than received time
slots, send AVAIL command with supported time slots, otherwise
passes AVAIL command along with the same information. In Step 6,
the terminating NE checks SNR and if available time slots are less
than received time slots, generates FWD AVAIL command with
supported time slots, otherwise generates FWD AVAIL command along
with the same information. In Steps 7-10, the intermediate NEs pass
the BWD command along noting available time slots. In Step 11, the
originating node sends a normal command. In Steps 12-15, upon
receiving the normal command, the intermediate NEs pass through the
normal command. In Step 16, upon receiving the normal command, the
terminating node generates a normal command.
[0142] The foregoing table illustrates stripping of time slots
across the sub-channels for the transceiver 1100. In particular,
each 100 Gbps of bandwidth uses a total of 80 time slots. The 80
time slots may be striped across all of the sub-channels.
TABLE-US-00002 BW Used 100 G 200 G 300 G 400 G 500 G 600 G 700 G
800 G 900 G 1 T Time slots per channel 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80
Channel 1 1-8 1-16 1-24 1-32 1-40 1-48 1-56 1-64 1-72 1-80 2 81-88
81-96 81-104 81-112 81-120 81-128 81-136 81-144 81-152 81-160 3
161-168 161-176 161-184 161-192 161-200 161-208 161-216 161-224
161-232 161-240 4 241-248 241-256 241-264 241-272 241-280 241-288
241-296 241-304 241-312 241-320 5 321-328 321-336 321-344 321-352
321-360 321-368 321-376 321-384 321-392 321-400 6 401-408 401-416
401-424 401-432 401-440 401-448 401-456 401-464 401-472 401-480 7
481-488 481-496 481-504 481-512 481-520 481-528 481-536 481-544
481-552 481-560 8 561-568 561-576 561-584 561-592 561-600 561-608
561-616 561-624 561-632 561-640 9 641-648 641-656 641-664 641-672
641-680 641-688 641-696 641-704 641-712 641-720 10 721-728 721-736
721-744 721-752 721-760 721-768 721-776 721-784 721-792 721-800
[0143] With respect to the switch 1130 and/or the interface 1132 in
the transceiver 1100, the transceiver 1100 may be used in a TDM
device, a Packet device, or a combination thereof. In TDM-based
core switches, a provisioned data rate must be maintained, within
limits of the method of resizing line path bandwidth. The
provisioning can be used to increase/decrease data rate to take
advantage of SNR increase/decrease. In packet-based core switches,
traffic flows are packetized. Note, any traffic type can be
packetized (also known as Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR)). For
example, Ethernet traffic can be encapsulated into switch packets,
TDM traffic (SONET/SDH/OTN/etc.) can be "chopped up" and
encapsulated into switch packets, etc. The packet switch routes
switch packets between ports, and packet flows can easily be
switched between sub channels on the transceiver 1100 to
accommodate faults and bandwidth changes. Also, the packet flows
can be concatenated across multiple transceivers 1100.
Accommodating bandwidth changes and faults can be as simple as back
pressure from the transceiver 1100 to the core switch or can use
one of many bandwidth signaling approaches.
[0144] In an exemplary embodiment, the flexible bandwidth
adaptation systems and methods can reduce power consumption using
the adaptive modulation formats in links with varying traffic
loads. An aspect of networks is that traffic loads statistically
vary over time based on a plurality of factors (e.g., time, day,
specific events, etc.). Conventionally, networks require that
transport paths be outfitted with maximum data throughput 100% of
the time even though it is required only at peak usage times. The
flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods described herein
are ideal for adapting the modulation format to match the current
traffic load. This allows for a partial shutdown of the transceiver
1100 hardware for a given traffic load.
[0145] Referring to FIGS. 24A-24C, in an exemplary embodiment,
graphs illustrate maximizing data throughput and reducing costs in
the presence of span ripple. In particular, the graphs include
three signals 1200A, 1200B, 1200C graphed on a frequency versus
power graph. As the signals 1200A, 1200B, 1200C travel over fiber
plant, optical amplifiers, etc., the signals 1200A, 1200B, 1200C
are attenuated differently based on frequency resulting in ripple
and tilt. Note, the example of FIGS. 24A-24C illustrates ripple,
but the same concepts apply to tilt. FIG. 24A illustrates
uncorrected ripple 1202 and its effect on the power of the signals
1200A, 1200B, 1200C. Specifically, there is a 12 dB difference
between the signal 1200A and the signal 1200C. Conventional ripple
correction (FIG. 24B) includes a device in the span that attenuates
all channels to match the worst attenuated channel, i.e. the signal
1200C. The extra loss reduces the signal power relative to noise in
the span ultimately reducing SNR which limits reach and max data
rate for the channel. Additional amplification is required to
accommodate the extra loss of the ripple reducer, adding cost. The
flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods can adapt data
rates of each of the signals 1200A, 1200B, 1200C to the associated
SNR thereby maximizing rate and reach. For example, high SNR
channels can use higher data rate modulations formats, e.g. the
signal 1200A, and the lower SNR channels can user lower data rate
modulation formats, e.g. the signal 1200C. This also removes ripple
reducing devices in the fiber plant which reduces costs.
[0146] Referring to FIG. 15, in an exemplary embodiment, a graph
illustrates variance in SNR over time for a channel 1250. Of note,
the channel 1250 when deployed will have SNR that varies over time
based on various factors, e.g. daily temperature changes,
mechanical vibration, etc. Conventional systems with fixed
modulation formats require deployment based on a worst case SNR
reducing reach, requiring extra equipment (amplifiers and
regenerators), etc. The flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and
methods can use the adapting modulation formats to maximize data
rates as SNR varies allowing an effective throughput based on an
average SNR (in lieu of a worst case SNR). Thus, the flexible
bandwidth adaptation systems and methods advantageously increase
data throughput for a given fiber plant and maximize reach without
having to add amplifiers and regenerators.
[0147] Using the average SNR to drive data throughput allows
greater oversubscription than worst case SNR. This may have an
application with data services, such as Carrier Ethernet, for
example. Carrier Ethernet may include Guaranteed throughput and
Best Effort throughput. For Guaranteed throughput, a specific data
throughput is guaranteed and is the last traffic to be dropped in
the event of congestion. Bursts of traffic above that guaranteed
rate may be dropped in case of congestion. This is usually a
Business class of service. For Best Effort throughput, this is
effective "No Effort" and is the first data to be dropped in the
event of congestion. This takes advantage of unused bandwidth when
higher priority traffic is not using its full bandwidth. This is
usually a residential class of service. With conventional systems,
the worst case SNR is used to determine bandwidth. For example,
some portion of the bandwidth is dedicated to guaranteed services
(e.g., 80%), and the remaining is divided among Burst traffic and
Best effort traffic (e.g., 30%) for a total subscription of 110%.
The flexible bandwidth adaptation systems and methods adapt to
varying SNR to maximize BW bandwidth. For example, if SNR increases
during the day, allotment could be 80% average for Guaranteed and
30% average for best effort.
[0148] It will be appreciated that some exemplary embodiments
described herein may include one or more generic or specialized
processors ("one or more processors") such as microprocessors,
digital signal processors, customized processors, and field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored program
instructions (including both software and firmware) that control
the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with
certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions
of the methods and/or systems described herein. Alternatively, some
or all functions may be implemented by a state machine that has no
stored program instructions, or in one or more application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or some
combinations of certain of the functions are implemented as custom
logic. Of course, a combination of the aforementioned approaches
may be used. Moreover, some exemplary embodiments may be
implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a
computer, server, appliance, device, etc. each of which may include
a processor to perform methods as described and claimed herein.
Examples of such computer-readable storage mediums include, but are
not limited to, a hard disk, an optical storage device, a magnetic
storage device, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read
Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), Flash
memory, and the like. When stored in the non-transitory computer
readable medium, software can include instructions executable by a
processor that, in response to such execution, cause a processor or
any other circuitry to perform a set of operations, steps, methods,
processes, algorithms, etc.
[0149] Although the present disclosure has been illustrated and
described herein with reference to preferred embodiments and
specific examples thereof, it will be readily apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments and examples may
perform similar functions and/or achieve like results. All such
equivalent embodiments and examples are within the spirit and scope
of the present disclosure, are contemplated thereby, and are
intended to be covered by the following claims.
* * * * *